


Charmed Irish Life

by lisawolfe80



Category: No Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-20 14:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 76,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2432339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisawolfe80/pseuds/lisawolfe80
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate meets a charming Irish stranger passing through town. Unfortunately for her, his true identity causes a major conflict for her. Will true love prevail?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story I've written (well post-high school or college many many many years ago). It was sort of inspired by Colin O'Donoghue and Once Upon A Time, but it's not really directly about either thing, though the character in the story is based off a fictional version of him and Captain Hook as a character in a Fairy Tale show is mentioned. That's why I'm posting it as No Fandom.
> 
> I probably should work on some edits of it too, but decided to just post it when I get time, so if anyone finds any errors, please let me now. I'm currently working on a Veronica Mars story, so my free time is spent on that, but thought I'd post this story out on AO3 too since I noticed there's a "No Fandom" option today.

The popularity of shooting movies and television shows in Canada, brings along with it a wide set of consequences for people living there. For some it is seen as a benefit, bringing in a welcome influx of business and employment opportunities, while for others it brings feelings of irritation or even heartbreak. While a great deal of production activity takes place in Vancouver or Toronto, many times shooting expands outside of the busy metropolitan hubs to smaller neighboring towns and gorgeous natural locations. And even though a lot of the production activity is seasonal there are still tourists that visit during the quiet times to see popular locations and keep those folks who enjoy the extra attention and income enjoying the popularity that their linkage to Hollywood has brought.

On a Sunday morning toward the end of when the larger productions take their summer breaks, a black rental jeep made its way along a picturesque highway that led up towards a popular mountain range a ways outside of Vancouver. The jeep pulled off the highway onto a gravel road that ran between a lush green pasture and a slightly wooded field. It continued up the road toward a quaint farmhouse, a set of stables and a riding arena. As the driver approached the stables a man closing the gate to the pasture turned to see that the arrival was not who he had expected to see. He walked past a wheel barrow and pitch fork waiting in front of an empty horse stall toward where the jeep had parked.

He watched as a man climbed out of the jeep. He had a slightly muscular build and was a couple inches shorter than his own six foot frame. He had a fair amount of scruff on his face and wore dark sunglasses, a plaid shirt and jeans. 

"What can I do for you?” he asked as the stranger approached him. 

"I was hoping to ride up and see the Black Creek Falls", the stranger replied with some sort of accent. He had grabbed a fancy looking camera bag out of the Jeep and had it slung over his shoulder. "A couple I met in Vancouver had raved about it and told me this was the place to come for a trip up to see it. I tried to call first but only got a recording. Unfortunately I really only have time today so thought I'd try my luck and drive out here.”

"Sorry about that. My wife Ellie is the one who rides and gives tours, and I just get to muck out stalls" he said with a bit of a chuckle. "She's out of town for a few more days though."

The stranger let out a bit of a disappointed sigh and looked around at the stables. "They said it was fairly easy to find the falls, any way you could help me out mate and just let me go out alone? I was really hoping to get a chance to photograph it today." The other man frowned a bit so he thought he'd better make an offer that he might not pass up. "I'd be willing to pay double what you normally charge" and seeing that the other man's expression changed slightly, but not yet to an obvious point of agreement, he thought he’d better up that offer a bit more. "Make that three times what you normally charge?"

The other man chuckled and smiled at him "you must really enjoy watching water fall over a cliff. Well my wife would probably kill me for it but maybe that will teach her to stop leaving me alone around here."

"Thanks mate!" The stranger said with a smile.

"Well don't thank me just yet, I'll need you to at least fill out her ridiculously long liability form or I fear she really would kill me when she returns."

"Of course, no worries mate. I completely understand.”

"I'm Jim MacDougall, but everyone usually just calls me Mac."

"Nice to meet you Mac, I'm Aidan O'Donnell"

Mac reached out and shook his hand. "So how comfortable are you on horse back?"

"I spent a lot of time back home in Ireland riding" Aidan replied "so I’d say I’m pretty comfortable with it."

"Hmmm..." Mac pondered as he looked at Aidan then out to the pasture and then back to the stable. "I just let the mares out to pasture and they will be a pain to bring back in. But we do have a gelding who’s still in his stall, but he can be a pain in the ass sometimes."

"I'm sure he’ll be fine" Aidan said.

"Alright then, the Captain it is for you." Mac said as the other man let out a bit of a surprised chuckle.

"Sorry mate" he replied as he saw a look of confusion flash across Mac’s face. "I'm up in Vancouver to start working on a TV show where I’ll be playing Captain Hook, so it's quite ironic that your pain-in-the-ass horse shares a very similar name."

Mac lead the way toward the stables and briefly stopped at the tack room for gear and the liability form. There were two horses still in the stable and Mac began preparing the black on for his ride as Aidan filled out the form. The other horse, a gray dapple, came over and pushed his head gently against Aidan.

"Well you’re a sweet fellow aren't you" he said as he started rubbing up around his ears.

"Yeah, Shadow is a really great horse. Sorry I can't let you take him out instead, but a friend of ours usually comes out to ride him every Sunday and I fear her wrath even more than my wife's," Mac said with a chuckle. "And a word of advice, if you do cross paths with her later today, I wouldn't mention you're an actor to her. She doesn't like actors much and on the slim chance you do run into any trouble I wouldn't want her to cause any more for you."

"Thanks for the warning mate!"

A good half hour to forty five minutes had passed after Aidan had headed up to the trail when Mac heard another vehicle coming down the drive. He put down his pitch fork and headed over to meet it.

"You're a little late today aren't you?" Mac asked.

She shot him an annoyed look, "I didn't know I had a designated time,” slamming her door shut as she headed toward the stable.

“You got company?" She asked as she shot a look toward the black jeep and then took a look around. 

"Yeah, a desperate tourist was looking to go out and photograph the falls. So I went ahead and rented him a horse to ride out there."

"On his own? You really don't value your life much do you?" She chuckled knowing how pissed Ellie would be when she got back. Then she looked out in the pasture. "You didn’t let him use Shadow did you?” She asked with a bit of fire rising in her tone as she realized all 4 mares were still here.

"Of course not Kate, I'm not that determined to end up in an early grave."

"No you're just a damn idiot then if you sent him out on Captain instead.” She said with a very frustrated sigh. “Really Mac? You couldn't have given him one of the mares?” 

“Well I’d just put them out in the pasture as he drove in, and you know how hard it would have been to coax one of them back in after being locked up all night. He said he was comfortable on a horse, so I’m sure it will be fine.” Mac explained. “Plus I figured you’d be out today and you could check up on him for me,” he added, bracing for her reaction.

“Damn it Mac! My one day-off a week and I have to spend it playing tour guide and baby sitter for you!” She fumed as she headed toward Shadow’s stall with Mac trailing behind her.

“Oh, I’m sure there’s nothing you’ll need to do.” Mac said in the most convincing tone he could muster.

“Sure” she replied skeptically. “You did warn him right?”

She snapped back around to face him when he didn’t respond, her red curls and piercing green eyes looking like a dragon about to attack. Mac looked a bit puzzled about what warning she was referring to. 

“You warned him not to drop his reins if he climbs off of him, or he’ll take off back to the barn and he’ll have to hike all the way back down, unless I rescue his sorry ass.” She said in her tone that he was hoping to avoid. 

“Well I did say he was a pain-in-the-ass, so yeah, I’m sure it will be fine”. Realizing that he had forgotten Ellie had told him about that happening the last time she had taken him up to the falls. 

Kate noticed that Shadow was already geared up for her as she turned the corner of the barn. “Oh, so you thought you’d butter me up by getting him ready for me?” she asked as her eyes narrowed and a feisty grin fell across her lips. 

“Well I figured if you didn’t show up, I’d probably have to go out and make sure he was OK, as I don’t really want to have to hire a divorce lawyer when Ellie gets back.” He replied. “Too many stalls to muck out, and finding a lawyer seemed like a less desirable chore.” 

She growled slightly as she got ready to climb on Shadow’s back. “You owe me big time buddy. You know that right? So what’s it going to be?”

“I’m sure you won’t have to do a thing Kate. I’m so confident, that if you do have to help him out, I’ll…” he stopped a moment to try to think of something she might agree too. “I’ll cover Shadow’s farrier fees next time. Deal?”

She thought about it for a moment, and replied “Farrier fees for the next 2 times” and headed off toward the trail.

“You’d better have some proof!” he called after her.

Kate had ridden for around 20 minutes when she rounded the corner in the trail and wasn’t terribly surprised to find Captain standing at a patch of grass happily grazing by himself. 

“Ah, thanks you ornery old devil,” she whispered so not to spook him as she grabbed her cell phone and snapped a picture to send back to Mac. “PROOF” being the only thing she typed. She slowly climbed off Shadow and reached down to grab his rein before he decided to bolt on her. She was glad that at least she wouldn’t have to share Shadow with whatever poor fool was stranded up here. She’d seen some of those “desperate tourists” that would come out to get a trail ride with Ellie. Being stuck sharing a horse with many of them would not have been a pleasant experience.

After riding back up the trail for 15 minutes or so, she finally came across the out-smarted and abandoned tourist. She took a good look at him as she rode closer. She noticed he had a plaid long sleeve shirt wrapped around his waist. Likely not where it started out before he had to hike back down the trail looking for Captain. He wore a dark blue t-shirt that had a slight v-neck which showed off his nicely defined arms and just a small amount of chest hair poking through the top. Kate was never one for overly muscular men, and this guy fell into the category of being very nicely toned. She could tell from looking at him, that he likely spent a fair amount of time keeping in shape judging from the way the t-shirt clung to him in all the right ways. With the way the shirt was tied snugly around his waist she could tell he likely had pretty nice abs as well. A camera bag hanging by his left hip, the strap swung across him and over his right shoulder, further highlighting his nicely defined chest.

He had a fair amount of scruff on his face, which on some guys she could do without, but on him it seemed to work. He took off his sunglasses and slowed his pace as he saw her. Something about his eyebrows caught her attention as she got closer. Perhaps it was the way he raised one slightly as his mouth began to change into a smile upon seeing her and the horses. A few small wrinkles tugging at the corners of his eyes as the smile grew larger as she rode closer. She marveled at the sparkly white almost pefect teeth that she could make out as she got even closer to where he’d now stopped walking. Guys who she’d met previously with this much perfection tended to have the absolute worst personalities, being very self absorbed and conceited, so she stiffened a bit in the saddle as she wondered what sort of jerk this guy would be. 

“Thank you lass! You’re my hero!” the man said in a very unmistakably Irish accent as she finally approached where he had stopped on the trail. His appreciation, accent and being called “lass” threw her for a moment and he detected a change in her expression as he’d said it. “Sorry, did I say something wrong?” He asked his smile quickly changing to a look of concern.

“No, it’s just…” she hesitated, “I’m not used to anyone other than my uncle calling me “lass”, so it just surprised me, that’s all”.

“I’m so sorry for being an inconvenience” he continued on, as he walked over to Captain and reached to take the reins back.

“Well I don’t think you were probably properly warned, so it’s not entirely your fault”, Kate answered. 

She watched as he lifted one foot into the stirrup. He swiftly jumped with his other leg and eased back into the saddle without much effort. She’d watched many of the other tourists struggle to get into the saddle, so it was refreshing that he seemed quite adept at it. It also gave her a glimpse at how nicely he filled out the dark jeans he was wearing. Once he was in the saddle and at eye level with her, his face came into better view, and she noticed he had eyes that were bluer than anyone’s she’d ever seen before. They seemed to have a sparkle that danced around in them. He smiled as he caught her looking so intently at him and she quickly looked away back up the trail. Her earlier annoyance about having to run into anyone on her normally quiet Sunday ride was slowly melting away, but she was reluctant to let him know that. 

"Thanks again for recovering him for me. My name's Aidan if Mac didn't mention that." Deciding to hold back on his last name on the slim chance she might have heard it before. He wasn’t really a very well known actor in the US, and given Mac didn’t seem to recognize him at all was hoping she wouldn’t either. He didn’t want to start off with her on the totally wrong foot.

"He didn't. I'm Kate."

"Very nice to meet you" he said flashing a big smile at her.

"Did you make it to the falls before he got away from you?"

"Sadly no, I stopped to take some pictures of the creek and a lovely old tree and he got away from me there."

"Well I was still planning to ride up there if you want to ride along."

He flashed the handsome smile once more and nodded. Kate gave Shadow a little kick and started back up the trail. They rode on in silence for a while when they reached the spot she guessed he likely stopped at. 

"Was this where you lost him?" She turned to ask.

He looked very surprised and asked how she knew. She smiled and explained how she use to do a lot of drawing and it was one of her favorite places to stop and draw as well. A bit father on the trail narrowed some and she heard Captain fuss a bit to which Aidan tried to settle him down. Kate stopped and glanced back at them.

"Damn Mac, He should have given you Tinkerbell or Snow" Kate said a bit frustrated.

"Pardon me?" Aidan said with a confused look on his face.

"Sorry" she said with a bit of a chuckle realizing that probably did sound strange. "Ellie and Mac's mares are all named after Disney characters. There's also Ariel and Wendy, but they are a bit feisty too, like your dastardly Captain. Ellie is a Disney fanatic. You should see her when that fairy tale show comes to town for filming."

Aidan recalled Mac's warning and thought it best to change the conversation, but he was a bit curious too and wanted to get to know this ravishing lady better.

"Are you also a fairy tale fan? Love at first site sort of lass?"

Kate laughed and shook her head. "Definitely not. That's always been Ellie's thing. Ever since we were little girls. Looking for her prince charming. Who of course she found with Mac."

"And this beast, is he also named after a Disney character?" He asked looking down and patting Captain's neck.

"Actually no, he was named that when they bought him, although I suppose it fits. He's such a devil sometimes, maybe like Captain Hook or something."

Aidan tried not to laugh at that comment, though he felt his smile grow a bit. Perhaps at hearing his name or betting called a devil, Captain did get a bit testy again.

"Maybe we should switch horses" she offered.

He tried to argue against it given Mac's other comment about her and Shadow, but she was a stubborn lass and he didn't stand a chance. Her curly red hair and gleaming green eyes fit well with her fiery personality. She was not about to take no for an answer and was off Shadow in an instant holding Captain's reins so he wouldn't get away again. Once they had swapped she took the lead again on the trail.

They continued up the trail until they reached the falls. She offered to watch the horses and let them get a drink while he took his photos.

"There's a little trail that you can follow up toward the top to get some nice views, but please don't fall in. My limit of heroic rescues is only one a day" she said with a smile as he pulled his camera out of his case.

Kate took the horses over to the edge of the pool of water at the base of the falls. The falls were quite beautiful this time of year as there was still a reasonable amount of water coming down from the mountains and the heavy rains had not yet started which tended to quickly change the water into a muddy mess. Kate loved riding up on Sundays because usually she was the only one there. Since the main trail to the falls was on Mac and Ellie's farm the number of visitors was generally small. Only a few people attempted to reach it from other access points because of the very difficult terrain. Occasionally she'd run across people who had hiked in though, but for the most part she could count on an afternoon of quiet serenity with just her and Shadow and the soothing sounds of the falling water. Ellie use to come out with her until she had their daughter and then her free time had been mostly taken up by her. 

As Kate stood watching the falls, she began to think about the handsome Irish man. There was something so comforting being around him. She guessed it was the accent and the way he spoke that reminded her of family and happy memories. Her uncle, as well as her own father, both were born in Ireland and spoke much the same as Aidan. Even though her father had passed away a few years back, she could still hear his voice echoing through her thoughts from time to time.

Kate had been listening to the soothing sound of the water falling against the rocks at the base of the falls for quite awhile when she heard a branch crack directly behind her. It startled her and she let out a little scream as she quickly spun around. Aidan was standing only inches from her and seemed almost as startled by her scream as she was at his sudden appearance.

"I am so sorry" he quickly blurted out. "I thought you knew I was there. I really wasn't trying to give you a fright".

Kate's heart was practically pounding out of her chest and she wasn't entirely sure if it was just him startling her or something about being that close to him. His eyes dazzled even more being that close and his mouth had turned into the most delicious smile she could ever remember seeing. A bit flustered she turned away toward the horses and the falls again.

"No problem" she tried to say in the calmest tone possible so he hopefully wouldn't notice anything. He was so attractive and charming, but she didn't know him at all. Just a tourist passing through, so best to just ignore any feelings about him. She felt as if she was being quite ridiculous really, and that was not something Kate Callahan would do. Being reckless around a strange man she'd just met.

“It's even more beautiful out here than I ever imagined. Thanks again for bringing captain back for me. I never would have made it up here today if it wasn't for you. I wish there was some way I could repay your kindness." 

Kate smiled at him. "It's actually kind of nice to enjoy it with someone" she said actually surprising her self as she said it. She wasn't quite sure why she had and while it was true, she still worried about where things might lead. She decided focusing on his offer might be better.  
"So what sort of repayment offer might you be able to make? Do you have any other useful talents besides taking photos and losing horses?"

He chuckled at that and thought for a moment. "I'm actually a pretty good cook and pretty good at playing the guitar."

He caught a slight grin when he mentioned the guitar. "What was that look for?" He asked.

"Oh nothing she said" a little embarrassed that he caught her reaction.

"That wasn't a nothing reaction. Do you have some deep dark secret about guitarists or something?"

"No it's nothing" but she could tell by the look he was giving her that he wasn't likely to let it go.  
"It just reminded me of a long time ago. I use to sing sometimes with a small little local band. I was dreadful really but was dating one of the members and he kept encouraging me. He even tried to teach me to play his guitar but I was even worse at that than singing."

"Well maybe you just needed a better teacher." He replied with a wink.

"So photography, cooking, and guitars... I'm sure you would have a great future in the wedding business. A real wedding triple threat - caterer, photographer and entertainment wrapped in one. I'll keep that in mind for any future nuptials I might be planning."

He let out quite a laugh. "Yes, that's what it says on my business cards - three for the price of one".  
She chuckled a little and looked a back out at that falls. 

"You mentioned drawing before. It sounded past tense?"

"Well I went to art school for a while but then I guess my life just went in a different direction and I stopped."

He could sense a bit of regret in her voice. "The great thing about a skill like that is it's never too late to go back to it.” He gave her a little wink and an almost mischievous smile. "I'm sure your drawings would be breathtaking."

She appreciated the kind words and couldn't help but feel he was trying his best to flirt with her but maybe it was something he wasn't quite sure of. She couldn't imagine a man as gorgeous as he would have trouble winning ladies hearts. But the more time she spent around him she got the sense that he was much shier than she would have expected from their very first encounter.

They took a seat on a log that was near the base of the falls and he snapped a few more pictures as the horses grazed on the grass. He tried to get Kate to agree to be in a picture, but she politely refused each time. He reluctantly gave up after a bit but did ask if she'd take a few of him. He spent a bit of time showing her how the camera worked and then asked if she'd at least sit in for a minute so he could line up the shot he wanted and then they could switch. She wasn't sure if it was just a tricky way to get her picture but she agreed. He had her stay on the log while he tried a few different positions and when he finally found one he liked he signaled her over and showed her the angle he was going for through the lens. It really seemed like one of those situations where the guy comes up with a plausible excuse to wrap their arms around the girl and get their heads as close as possible. She had to give him credit for coming up with that if it had been intentional. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until he stepped away. He went back over to the log and flashed her a smile that made her heart skip a beat. She took a few shots and then he came back over to see how they looked.

"You did amazing lass. You have quite the knack I'd say. Maybe you should take up photography as a hobby if the drawing doesn't pan out." He said with that charming smile and little wink again.

She smiled back and was hoping that she didn’t blush, as there was something about his personality that was so quickly growing on her. She realized it was getting to be late afternoon by this point, and would take them at least an hour to get back to the stables. She was surprised that a part of her really didn’t want the afternoon with him to end. He was the first man in a long time that she seemed to share an almost instant connection with, and she couldn’t really understand why. The only thing that made rational sense to her was that he was incredibly charming, handsome and Irish. There was just that feeling of being at home around him. It was at that moment that her cell phone chimed. 

She glanced down to see a text back from Mac. “Alive? Dead? Lost? Charmed? Shall I call out the CMP?“ She wondered at that point if he’d set her up a bit. He was always trying to play match maker with her and new trainees that would come through the fire station that he was a volunteer at. Conveniently forgetting to have Ellie warn her that he had asked a guy over for dinner on Sundays when Kate would come out to ride and stay on for dinner with them. After a while, she wasn’t terribly surprised when she’d get back from riding and another new suitor would be at the farm. She replied with a simple “Ha!”

She let Aidan know that they’d probably need to head back soon so it wasn’t too late getting the horses back to the barn. He nodded and started to pack up his camera equipment. A few minutes later they were saddled up and ready to head back to the barn. He’d insisted he’d be fine going back on Captain and she didn’t really see any point to disagree since he was always a happy horse when he was headed back to the stable and his dinner. 

“Thanks again for making this an unforgettable afternoon.” He said with a smile as they turned toward the path again. She nodded thinking to her self how she couldn’t help but agree and feel a bit sad that it was coming to an end. 

After about an hour they reached the barn again. Mac was putting the mares back in their stalls when they arrived. Kate could tell he was relieved to see them as a smile spread across his face. 

“Sorry about him being a pain in the ass,” Mac said obviously directing it toward Aidan for the horse giving him trouble. 

Kate interrupted before Aidan could say a word, saying with a mischievous smile, “Oh, Aidan wasn’t really that bad.” 

Both men laughed at her and Mac started helping them with the horses. Aidan mentioned how beautiful the falls were and how thankful he was for getting to go out there as they finished up with the horses. 

“Why don’t I buy you both dinner to make up for your less than ideal trail ride,” Mac offered. “I wouldn’t want any bad customer reviews out there you know,” he added with a little chuckle. “And besides, with Ellie out of town, I’d rather not eat left-over meatloaf again.”

Aidan nodded his head in agreement, but then remembered he needed to figure out where he was staying for the night. “Actually, I need to find a place to stay tonight. I’m not due back to Vancouver until the morning, and thought I’d stay the night in town before heading back. Is there a place you’d recommend that I can call for a reservation before we head to dinner?”

“You’re welcome to stay out here in our guest room if you’d like,” Mac offered. Kate shot him a bit of a look wondering if that was a wise choice, but Mac seemed to be on a role with really bad decisions today, so she didn’t say anything. Aidan initially responded that he didn’t want to be a bother, but Mac talked him into it anyway. 

“So how about it Kit-Kat? Will you join us for dinner?” Mac asked. Kate rolled her eyes. She knew that he loved to try to get to her by calling her that. He did it so often that his 4-year old daughter now called her Kitty Cat whenever she would see her. Kate could never refuse cute little Bella when she would ask her “Kitty Cat” to do something for her. Mac on the other hand, wasn’t a cute little 4-year old girl. Kate put on her not quite sure, somewhat stubborn face. “Come on. You’d better come along to keep us out of trouble,” he continued on.

She looked from Mac over to Aidan and back at Mac. “Fine, I’ll come along” she replied in her best shot at sounding reluctant. She really didn’t want Mac to know that she was starting to like Aidan, or it would quickly get extremely awkward if his match-making side started to come out. 

“There aren’t many restaurants open in town on Sunday’s though,” Kate reminded him. Ellisburg was a fairly small city outside the larger Vancouver metropolis and a lot of the businesses were family run and closed on Sundays. Not to mention we just got back from a trail ride and aren’t in the finest attire.” pointing out the fairly obvious.

“Molly’s will be open though,” Mac replied. “And it’s on your way back into town anyway, so no reason you can’t just stop in and grab a quick dinner with us. And I’ve known Molly to care what anyone was wearing.”

“Fine, I’ll take my own car and head home after we eat then,” Kate replied.

“Perfect!” Mac answered, then a little more quietly added, “And since I’m on call tonight, if I have to run out, Aidan will have some one to keep him company.” 

Kate sighed and rolled her eyes. She should have known he was up to something else, other than just asking her to join them for dinner. “You’d better hope that doesn’t happen, since my chauffer fees are even steeper than my mountain rescue fees.” She said with a grin. 

Molly’s was a fairly large family restaurant that was located on the edge of Ellisburg on the road up to the mountains. Even though it wasn’t right in town, a lot of residents would still make the short drive out there to eat. Molly was famous for her pot roast and absolutely delicious home made pies. She knew a lot of the local residents too, having lived in Ellisburg all her life and raising her own children there. One of her daughters had been in the same class with Kate and Ellie, and so she’d know them pretty much all their lives. 

As the three of them walked in Molly came out from behind the counter to greet them. “Katie!” she said as her face lit up at the site of Kate. “I haven’t seen you in ages!” She gave Kate a huge hug. “I’m so glad you came in. I know you’re probably always tied up at the Pub, but you know you could stop in here and say hello on your way to or from the farm.” Kate smiled back a bit apologetically. “Where are Ellie and Bella?” Molly asked turning her attention to Mac next. 

“Ellie’s out of town visiting her sister in Washington for the week. She’s getting married in a few months and insisted Ellie come down to help her with some more of the planning. Bella of course went down with her too,” Mac replied. 

“Well let’s get you to a table,” Molly said as she started to lead them through the fairly full restaurant. “How are your Aunt and Uncle?” she asked Kate as they walked.

“They’re doing really good,” Kate replied. “Sean’s still helping me run the Pub and Sarah keeps busy with all her little craft projects and helping out as a sub at the school when they need her”.

“Well be sure to tell them I said hello, and that they should also come out and see me!” she said as they reached the table. 

Aidan and Mac each slid into the booth first on opposite sides, leaving Kate in the slightly awkward position of figuring out which one to sit by. She quickly decided the safest thing to do was to sit next to Mac. It would also give her a better vantage point to study Aidan a bit more from across the table and not raise any suspicions with Mac.

“I love how friendly everyone around here seems to be,” Aidan commented as they started to look at the menus Molly had left with them. “I take it you have all lived here quite some time?”

“Yeah, Ellie, Kate and I all grew up here and have known each other since we were young kids. I’ve never really lived anywhere but here, while Kate went to live in LA for a few years and Ellie went down to Washington for a while to go off to College. Ellie’s sister and parents live in Washington now too, but we really like living on this side of the border and it’s an easy visit whenever she starts missing them too much. My parents also migrated south, though very south, to Arizona, so we don’t see them quite as often.” Mac explained. 

Aidan noticed a slight frown pass across Kate’s face when Mac mentioned LA. He wondered if something had happened there that resulted in the warning Mac had given him earlier. He was actually thankful he hadn’t spent much time there yet, just shorter visits for interviews and press events. 

“I guess you could say we all have jobs that put us in connection with lots of the local community too. Kate and her Uncle have a Pub in town that they run, Callahan’s. So there are a lot of regular customers that come through there. I’m a PE teacher and Basketball Coach at the High School, in addition to being a volunteer fire fighter. So I get to know quite a few families as their kids go through school. Ellie is a nurse, but ever since our daughter Bella was born 4 years ago, she usually just picks up open shifts when they are short their regular staff. How about you, have you been many places besides Ireland and Canada?” 

“Yeah, I spent a while in London and then have traveled around to several other countries in Europe for family vacations and stuff like that,” Aidan explained. He went on to list some of the locations he loved visiting and how he’d really become interested in photography when he was traveling around as a teenager with his family. He mentioned that he’d visited several art museums as well, which drew a bored huff from Mac and a big grin from Kate. He was in the middle of describing some amazing castles he’d visited in Scotland, when their food order arrived. 

No sooner had the waitress set the plates on the table, that Mac's Cell Phone made a very high pitched tone. Kate sighed a bit as she heard it and saw another man across the room also look down at his phone that had instantaneously gone off at the same time with almost the same tone. Kate recognized him as one of the other volunteer firemen too. 

“Duty calls?” She asked as Mac looked up from his cell.

“Sorry,” Mac responded. “I owe you, I know. Can you get Aidan back to the farm and get him settled in the guest room?”

“Of course” she replied. “I’ll have Molly box up your dinner and bring it back for you too.” As much as she liked to give Mac a hard time under normal circumstances, she knew these calls were never easy for any of them. Too often they would end up being some sort of car accident and those too frequently ended up with devastating outcomes.

“Thanks. You’re the best,” he said as Kate stood up and he scooted out of the booth. “I’ll take care of the bill with Molly, so don’t worry about paying.” He said as he and the other man quickly headed to the door. 

Kate sat back down and shot a small smile across at Aidan. He seemed a bit more nervous than before and had looked down at his dinner. “I’d love to hear more about the art museums you visited and exhibits that you saw”, she said as she wondered why he had suddenly gotten uncomfortable with Mac’s departure. 

She noticed his face seem to light up and he flashed that charming smile at her again. She was surprised how she felt from just seeing that smile cross his face. He started describing his favorite art exhibits that he’d seen as he had traveled around Europe. It had been a long time since she’d talked art with anyone and she found it very refreshing compared to conversations she normally had with customers at the bar. She loved how enthusiastic he was as he described some of the pieces, even though it had been many years since he had seen them. Even some of the other students in her art classes didn’t have the attention to detail or ability to remember as many works of art as he did. She could have spent all evening just listening to his soothing Irish voice describing the masterpieces he’d seen during his travels.

Molly wandered by their table again as they were finishing up their meals and insisted that they had to have a piece of pie before they were allowed to leave. Kate waved her hand in Aidan’s direction as a signal that he should go first.

“Do you have Coconut Cream?” He asked with his eyebrows rising up in anticipation of the reply.

“Of course we do sweetie,” Molly replied, “and if I remember correctly, that’s your favorite pie too, isn’t it Katie?” Kate smiled and nodded. “Don’t you two make the cutest pair” Molly added with a little grin and headed back to the kitchen to retrieve the slices of pie. 

Kate thought Aidan’s expression looked a bit nervous again as he shifted his gaze from her back down to his plate. She was fascinated by how he could almost instantly go from being so excited and lively talking about the art exhibits to almost embarrassed that they had the same taste in pie.

“Molly really does make amazing pies,” Kate offered up, hoping to make him feel a bit more at ease. “You mentioned cooking up at the falls, what’s your specialty?”

A smile crossed his face and he looked up to meet her gaze. “I can make really amazing grilled cheese sandwiches,” he said with a wink.

“Wow,” she replied with a devious grin on her face, “I would never have expected it to be something so exotic, from the Irish man.” 

They both laughed as Molly returned with the pies. She also had Mac’s dinner and a piece of pie ready for Katie to take back to the farm for him. “It was so good to see you Katie. Don’t be a stranger and stop in and see me every once in a while. And don’t forget to tell Sean and Sarah that I’d love to have them come in some time too.”

Kate promised she would and stood up to give Molly another hug before sitting down to enjoy her pie. Aidan had patiently waited before starting into his piece as well. Such a gentleman she thought as she noticed it and took a bite herself. They mostly ate their pie in silence with an occasional comment about how delicious it was. 

They finished their pie and Kate waved across the restaurant as they left to Molly. She was busy talking with some customers but waved back as they left. As they walked toward the car, Aidan picked up his pace a bit and reached to open the driver door for Kate. She blushed slightly, but luckily with it now being dark and somewhat low lighting in the parking lot, she was hoping he didn’t notice. 

“Thank you,” she said with a small laugh as she climbed into her seat. He gave her a smile and a little wink, and walked around to get in the opposite side. 

They drove in silence at first. As she was driving, she tried to discretely glance over at him to see what he was doing. At one point she noticed he seemed to open his mouth to ask something, but then he didn’t say anything. “Did you have a question?” she asked.

He hesitated a moment and then asked, “Mac and Molly never mentioned your parents, are they in town as well?”

Kate stared straight ahead again and waited a few moments before she answered. “My mom actually died when I was only 6. She was killed in a car accident. We were living down in Washington and after the accident, my dad moved the two of us up here so my Aunt and Uncle could help him raise me. So Sarah’s really more like a mom to me than an aunt. But I’ve always called her Aunt Sarah anyway.”

“I’m very sorry for asking. I hope I didn’t upset you.” Aidan said softly from the passenger seat. 

“It’s OK,” Kate said reassuringly. “My dad passed away a few years ago. So now I just have Sean and Sarah. How about you? Are your parents in Ireland?”

“Aye,” he answered as they pulled up to entrance to the farm. 

“I can stop at your Jeep so you can move it over by the house if you’d like.” Kate offered.

“That would be great,” he replied back as she pulled up next to the Jeep.

“Now don’t get lost driving from the barn to the house, or you really will owe me for rescuing you so many times in one day!” Kate teased as he climbed out the passenger door. He let out a small chuckle and closed the door. 

Kate waited for him on the porch as he parked his Jeep and grabbed a travel bag from the back. As he approached the porch she couldn’t help but comment that his luck was improving since he made it successfully without her assistance. 

“Aye, but being rescued by such a beautiful lass twice in one day was the highlight of my visit,” he said as she turned to open the door into the house. She was glad her back was turned to him and he couldn’t see the large smile and blushed cheeks she felt spread across her face as he said it. 

It was dark in the house as they walked in. As usual, Mac hadn’t left any lights on other than the porch light when he had headed out much earlier in the day. She turned on the hallway light and Aidan could see there was a set of stairs on the right side and a door way on the left as the hallway continued down into a darker room at the end. She told him he could leave his bag by the stairs. Setting down his bag, he watched as Kate entered the door way on the left and turned another light on. He followed her in to what he could now tell was the kitchen. Kate put Mac’s leftovers in the fridge and grabbed two bottles of beer out while she had the door open.

“Can I offer you a beer?” She asked. 

He smiled and laughingly replied,” of course a true Irishmen never passes up a beer.”

She reached in a drawer and grabbed a bottle opener and opened the bottles. Then she leaned against the counter and handed him one of the bottles. He tipped the top of his bottle to her and she followed suit as their bottles clanked together. “Here’s to my beautiful Canadian savior.” 

She laughed as she pulled her bottle back and took a drink. Aidan gave her a small wink as he smiled and took a drink of his as well. Just then something brushed against his leg, startling him momentarily. Kate caught the slight look of surprise on his face and giggled a bit. 

“Sorry, I should have warned you they have a ferocious guard cat.” She said looking down at his leg. 

Aidan looked down to see a fluffy black and white cat looking up at him with huge green eyes. The cat went back to walking over his foot rubbing up against his leg. “Let me guess,” he said looking down at the cat, “Dinah?” he asked.

“Good guess, but no.” Kate answered back. “It’s a he, not a she. Would you like to take another shot at it?” 

“I’m afraid I’m not up on all my Disney stories, but I did remember Alice in Wonderland had a cat named Dinah, so thought I’d take a shot at it.” 

“It was an impressive guess,” She said with a smile, “but this is Figaro, from Pinocchio.” Kate knelt down and Figaro left Aidan’s side to get some attention from her. “He’s quite the charmer too.” She said as she picked him up and he rubbed his head under her chin, purring loudly.

“It may be a while until Mac makes it back tonight. You never know how long it will be when he gets called out. I can hang out and keep you company if you’d like though.” She offered, not quite ready to head home and possibly never see the handsome Irishman again. 

“I’d really like that, if it’s not an inconvenience for you.” He replied with a small smile creeping across his face and perhaps a bit more color in his cheeks than what was there before. 

“Do you like to play darts?” She asked heading out of the kitchen back into the hallway. He followed her and answered that he did. She turned on more lights as they walked. At the end of the hallway was a relatively large living room with two couches that were positioned facing a TV cabinet, and a couple of arm chairs nestled at the end near a large fireplace. At the end near the fireplace, there was a dart board and Kate sat Figaro down on one of the chairs and retrieved the darts. 

Aidan studied the room a bit more and noticed, not surprisingly, quite a few Disney figurines and fancy snow-globes. He saw there were lots of pictures spread around the room, mostly of Mac and a lovely blond woman with blue eyes, who he assumed was Ellie. In some there was a little girl, who looked very much like the blonde woman, although her eyes were green like Mac’s and her blonde a slightly darker shade than the woman’s. Kate was also in a few with them, as well as several with other older people too. 

Kate noticed him looking at the pictures as she retrieved the darts. “That’s Ellie,” she said walking over and picking up one of the pictures of Mac, Ellie and Bella, “and of course her little Bella. She definitely got her looks from Ellie, and her spunky personality from Mac. Ellie and I became instant friends the first day we met. We had just moved up here after my mom’s accident, and I was so sad about losing her and then on top of it to have to leave the few friends I had in Washington. My Aunt had taken me to play at the park in town and Ellie was there with her mom and it was like we’d known each other for ever even though we’d just met. We’ve been through a lot together over the years and I don’t know what I’d ever do with out her.” 

“They’re both very lovely.” Aidan said with a warm smile spreading across his face. 

She smiled back and handed him a set of darts. “Loser has to carry your luggage up to the guest room?” she offered as a little challenge. She couldn’t think of another challenge that wouldn’t lead to her getting into too much trouble, although several passed through her head before she settled on that one. 

A wicked grin crossed his face and he followed it with a wink. “I hope it won’t be too heavy for you then.” He replied back. 

After she won the first round, she said it would only be fair to go for 2 out of the 3 given she had played on the board many times and would give him the benefit of just getting warmed up. The second round was close, and Aidan was able to beat her by a very narrow margin. He wasn’t entirely sure that she hadn’t intentionally missed a couple of her shots, but either way was glad that she seemed to be enjoying herself. She was sharing various stories of growing up with Ellie and all the time she’d spent out at the farm.  
She explained that the farm had been in Ellie’s family for several generations and after she and Mac had married, her parents decided they wanted to move down to Washington where her sister, Laura was living, so they had given the farm to them as a wedding present. Ellie of course being thrilled by that, and so in addition to working part time as a nurse at the hospital, she started giving riding lessons and tours. Kate couldn’t really imagine Ellie being happy any where else besides the farm. It was a part of her as much as Mac and Bella were.

He was ahead in the third round and teasing her that she’d better get ready to add bellboy, in addition to chauffer and mountain rescuer, to her list of qualifications, when she easily hit a bulls-eye, followed by another on her next shot. That pretty much confirmed to him that she was just toying with him earlier and letting him have a chance.

As she won the third game, a wicked grin came across her face and she said “I guess champion dart master is not one of your qualifications, but YOU can now add bellboy to yours.” 

He chuckled back at her. He was having such an amazing time with her. It was so refreshing to be around her. Lately he’d been too busy with work and interviews to enjoy just relaxing and having fun. It was also a nice change to be around someone who wasn’t in the entertainment business and didn’t actually even know who he was, not that he was very well known in Canada or the US at all. After spending a few days in LA getting things ready to join the show’s production, he’d wanted to spend a bit of time alone, and had come up to Canada earlier than needed to do some sight seeing and relax before he got consumed with the show. He’d started out heading very far north, with this being his last stop on his way back down to Vancouver. He was so sorry he hadn’t met her earlier in his trip and not on the last day before he had to go back to the reality of all the commitments he had made. 

Kate put the darts away and smiled at him. “I’ll show you your room, if you’re not too exhausted from being whipped at darts to carry your bag upstairs?”

“Good thing I didn’t let you convince to play for money, as I sense you could have easily taken me for quite a bit,” he replied and followed her back to the front of the house. 

As they walked back to the front of the house, she pointed out a door downstairs to the bathroom and one that was Mac and Ellie’s room and Bella’s right next to theirs. Then she started up the stairs as he stopped and picked up his bag. He followed a few stairs behind her, finding it quite difficult to keep his eyes off her lower half as she was leading the way. She glanced back behind her and his gaze quickly shot up to her face, but she still realized what he’d been looking at and gave him a little bit of a scolding glance. As she turned forward again though, a smile spread across her face secretly enjoying the attention. She reached the top and walked into a doorway on the left, flicking on the light switch.

She leaned against the doorway as he put his bag down on the bed and turned to look at her. She had a smile across her face that looked anything but innocent. Her red curls falling gently over her shoulders and her green eyes looking very inviting. He took a deep breath and walked closer, studying her eyes as he closed the distance between them. His heart beating faster in his chest with every step that he took. Her expression continued to be one of eager anticipation, not showing any concern as he was getting closer and closer. His body was only inches from her now and he could feel her breath on his face as she looked up into his eyes. His body was aching in anticipation of kissing her soft rosy lips, when the door downstairs opened and Mac’s voice rang out. “Kate? Aidan? Everything OK? Where are you two?”

Kate let out a sigh and slight chuckle, and yelled back, “Just showing Aidan to his room, we’ll be right down.” She bit her lower lip for a moment and then sighed again. “After you this time,” holding her arm out toward the door. Aidan nodded and headed down the stairs. 

Perfect timing Mac, she thought to herself as she followed him down the stairs. Aidan stopped at the bottom and gave her a warm smile as she continued past him into the kitchen. Mac was putting his dinner on a plate as they walked in. He gave them a smile and took a drink from his beer. 

Kate had been there often enough when he’d come back from calls to know whether they were bad ones, or not. His expression looked more like a moderate call this time, so she decided it looked safe to ask about it. “How did things go tonight?” she asked.

“It was just a minor accident. Some tourist coming back down the mountain was going a bit too fast around some corners and lost control. Luckily it wasn’t in one of the really dangerous curves with steep drop-offs. They did take the driver and passenger to the hospital to make sure everything was OK, but that was just precautionary. We had to get the scene all cleaned up, so it took a little bit of time.” 

“Glad it wasn’t more serious,” Kate said with a knowing glance. She let out a little sigh. “Well since you’re back and it’s getting late, I’d better head back to town.”

“Thanks again, Kate.” Mac said with a smile. She nodded and headed toward the door.

“I’ll walk you out,” Aidan said and added as she gave him a questioning look, “I remembered something I forgot in the Jeep, so I need to go out for that anyway.”

He beat her to the door and held it open for her as she passed by. “Good night,” Mac called from the kitchen. 

As she walked out the door and he closed it behind them, she glanced back at him. “You’re not really very good at lying, you know.” 

His eyes shot down to the ground, “I know, I just really wanted to walk you out to say good night.” He glanced back up to see her reaction and was relieved to see the pleasant smile on her face. 

They continued on to her car with a bit of awkward silence setting in. The night was mostly silent with an occasional sound of the horses at the stables and the crunch of gravel under their feet as they walked. He reached down and opened the driver side door for her, like he had back at the restaurant. She stopped and rested against the back door before climbing in. Studying his face to get a reading of what he might be thinking. Her inquisitive look seemed to make him a bit nervous and she noticed the way his tongue seemed to nervously rub on his teeth before he spoke, while his eyes glanced from her back to the house and back to her again. 

“Thanks again for all your help today.” He said with a shy smile forming on his mouth. 

“It was my pleasure,” she said, her mind trying not to get lost thinking about the moment that was interrupted upstairs in the guest room. She didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath as she thought back to that, and she tried to slowly release it without him noticing. “So, will you be in Vancouver for long?”

“Aye, for a while, I’m not yet sure how long though at this point.” He said, with his eyes staying fixed on her now. His shyness being slowly replaced by growing confidence as he watched her gazing back into his eyes.

“Well if you get some time you should come back and see the rest of town. There’s a terrific Irish Pub that I’ve heard great things about.” She said with a sly grin.

“I certainly look forward to checking it out soon then.” He cautiously took a step closer. Her smile grew a bit more and her eyes were locked on his. He took another step and closed the distance between them, his heart racing in his chest as it had previously in the house. He took a deep breath, then leaned in and gently kissed her lips. She kissed him back, but only for a moment before she stopped and smiled. “It was lovely meeting you, Aidan.”

He forced a smile, and nodded back. “I hope to see you again soon.”

“That would be nice,” she said with a smile and climbed into the car. He gently closed the door for her and watched as she drove back out to the highway. A small ache in his chest, that grew as her car disappeared into the darkness.


	2. Unexpected Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate gets a surprise visitor at work.

It was a Tuesday afternoon and it had been a little over three weeks since Kate had met Aidan. The lunch rush at the bar had just finished and a few tables were still occupied by customers finishing their meals. Sean, was behind the bar rearranging some of the bottles that had been used for drinks during lunch. He was very particular that the liquor bottles were in a certain order and if Kate or any of the bar help got them out of order he would put it back exactly the way he liked it when things quieted down. He was too much of a gentleman to complain to any of them, but Kate knew it was one thing he was particular about. They all tried to keep them in the right order, but some days that was just impossible.

Shelly was one of several waitresses who worked at the bar and was busy chatting with customers at one of the tables. She was a couple of years younger than Kate, and they got along quite well. She was a gorgeous brunette with long legs and curves in all the right places. She would frequently sign on to be hired as an extra on the various productions that came through town. Kate and Sean were usually pretty flexible with her if a spot opened up since she enjoyed it so much and was a hard worker when she was at the bar. She also had a reputation for getting friendly with as many single actors and crew that came through town as possible. Shelly was not one who anyone would ever consider shy, and enjoyed using her charm over men to get whatever she wanted. Usually at the bar that just meant sizable tips and lots of phone numbers. 

Kate was clearing tables, when she heard the door open. She turned to greet the new customers and was shocked to see those breathtaking blue eyes sparkling back at her. 

“Hi Kate” he said with that charming grin spreading quickly across his face. 

She felt a smile spread across her face as well as she said hi back. Her face lighting up at the sight of him and she felt her heart start to pound faster in her chest. She quickly realized there were two other men coming in behind him. The one closest to him put his hand on Aidan’s shoulder and said they’d get a table and continued on. Kate’s chest tightened as she recognized the two men as actors on one of the shows that frequently came through doing shoots in town. They would occasionally come in for lunch, and Shelly would always chat with them about what was going on with their shoots. The smile that had been there only seconds before was quickly gone as her head jumped to the most obvious conclusion as to why he’d be with them. 

“What are you doing back in town?” she cautiously asked.

He paused for a moment as he realized her initial happiness to see him was instantly gone. “I’m in town filming some scenes for the show I’m working on,” he said hoping Mac’s initial warning was just an exaggeration. He had no intention of lying to her, so answered truthfully and hoped that it wouldn’t matter to her. He had felt guilty that he hadn’t mentioned it that first day, but was enjoying her company so much that he didn’t want to take a chance at ruining it. She also hadn’t asked anything that day that he had to lie about, so it was fairly easy then to just not bring it up. 

Kate’s heart sank. Of course given her luck he would be an actor. She gave him the most pleasant smile she could muster. “I need to get these dishes to the back. Enjoy your lunch.” She said and quickly headed for the door to the kitchen. 

She could hear Shelly already greeting the men that had sat in a booth near the back as the door closed behind her. She put the tray down and braced her arms against the counter as she closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. She could feel her heart pounding even harder now and it wasn’t from the excitement of seeing him again, but from the sheer disappointment of finding out what he was. She had sworn years ago that she would never get involved with another actor and that was not something she was ever going to change her mind about.

A moment later the door opened and she heard Sean’s voice, “Are you alright lass?”

Kate didn’t want to talk about it. Her mind was racing with a way to escape the situation all together. 

“Yeah I’m fine,” She said trying not to give an indication that she wasn’t, quickly pushing off the counter and forcing a smile back to her lips. “I was thinking since the lunch rush is over and Shelly’s scheduled to work through dinner that I might run out and do a quick errand. I haven’t gotten Ellie a present for her birthday yet, and wanted to get that taken care of since her party’s coming up soon. I’ll be back before the dinner rush starts of course.” At least in her mind that sounded like a plausible excuse for getting away for an hour or so. 

Sean could sense something wasn’t quite right, but knew his niece well enough to know that pushing her about it would only make matters worse. He nodded and headed back out to the bar. Shelly was filling 3 glasses of Ice Tea as he returned.

“Any idea what upset Kate?” He asked her with a puzzled look on his face.

“The group of guys that just came in are all actors, and I think one might be the Irish fellow that she went up to the falls with.” Shelly replied as she finished filling the last glass. “At least he seems to fit his description, said hello to her when he came in, and hasn’t taken his eyes off the door to the kitchen since he sat down.”

“That would explain it,” Sean said with a frown forming across his brow. He returned to his position behind the bar and went back to organizing his bottles.

Kate lived in a small one-bedroom apartment above the bar. The door to the stairs was right outside the back door of the bar. Kate quickly fled out the door and headed up the stairs to her apartment. It was odd being up there in the middle of the afternoon, as she normally just spent time down in the bar getting things ready between lunch and dinner and watching TV with her uncle. He and Sarah lived across town and he would stay at the bar between the busy shifts. During the week, he would typically head home after the dinner rush was over and Kate and some other bar staff would handle things until closing. Friday and Saturdays, he would always stay late since those were their busiest nights and they would both work the bar together, along with other help too. 

Kate leaned against the door, her eyes closed trying to fight back the disappointment she was feeling. She let out a heavy sigh. She tried to convince herself that she was being ridiculous. She’d only spent a single day with him. She wasn’t Ellie. She didn’t believe in love at first sight. At least she didn’t anymore. Still, she didn’t want to have to see that charming smile, or look into those blue eyes at this point. 

Well she wasn’t lying about still needing to get a gift for Ellie and decided that might take her mind off of him, so grabbed her purse and headed back down the stairs to her car that was parked behind the bar.

Back in the bar, Shelly was starting to feel sorry for the poor obviously love-sick Irishman. His eyes barely left the door to the kitchen the entire time he sat there. One of the other men had gotten up and gone to use the restroom and the other was on the phone as Shelly returned with their orders. 

“Sorry sweetie,” she said to him, “Kate’s left for the rest of the afternoon.” 

He’d already had a bit of concern on his face watching the door, and she noticed a wave of sadness wash across his face as she finished speaking. He stared down at his plate for a moment, suddenly realizing that she’d set it in front of him. 

“Thank you” he said forcing a small smile to return as he looked at her again. She nodded and asked if there was anything else they needed as the third man returned from the restroom. She went back to cleaning the rest of the tables that had now emptied out as the three men were the last ones left in the bar. She knew they typically didn’t have long for lunch when they were working on shoots, and that they tried to avoid the busy times if they did leave set so they weren’t pestered by fans. She wandered back over a short while later to see if they wanted anything else and to give them their check. They paid and headed to the door. Aidan said he’d meet the others outside in a minute and turned back toward Shelly. 

“I’d really like to talk to her if I could,” he said almost pleadingly. “Do you know if she’ll be back later?”

Shelly glanced back at the bar to check to see if Sean was still there. He happened to be back in the kitchen at the time, and the look on Aidan’s face was just too much for her to refuse helping him. “She’ll definitely be back for dinner later, but if you really want to talk to her and can get away from the set, the best thing to do would be to come back after 9 when things are quiet and she’ll be the one running the bar. But you didn’t hear that from me,” she added with a little wink. 

He smiled and thanked her and headed back to join the other two men waiting outside for him.

Kate had returned before the bar started filling up for dinner, and mostly tried to avoid conversation with Sean or Shelly. Another of their waitresses had come in to work through the dinner shift too, but it wasn’t a particularly busy evening, so it made it easy for Kate to avoid having to help with customers.

“Seems like it’ll be a slow night,” Kate said to Sean, “did you want to head home early and have dinner with Sarah?” 

He could sense she still seemed a bit rattled about the earlier incident, but was doing her best to not show it. He took the hint that she’d rather be alone behind the bar and agreed to head home early. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. She sighed knowing he wasn’t quite falling for her act, as that was completely out of character for him.

Shelly came up to the bar with a drink order for her to fill a few minutes later. As Kate was working on the drinks Shelly smiled slyly at her and couldn’t help but pry. “So, that guy that was in here before you bolted? I take it he was the Irish guy you rode up to the falls with and made out with at the farm?” 

“Shelly!” Kate blurted out, then more quietly, “one kiss as I was getting in the car was hardly making out.” She shot Shelly a glare, which only made Shelly giggle back at her. “You’re horrible you know!” Kate scolded her. But it did peak her interested, “Did he mention something to you about that day?”

Shelly smiled back coyly, “No, but I could tell he was rather upset that you vanished after he showed up. That, and those dreamy blue eyes and Irish accent, and it was pretty easy to put two and two together.”

“Well it doesn’t really matter now, because he’s an actor and you know I how feel about that.” Kate slammed a bottle down a bit more forcefully than she intended as she said it.

“So you wouldn’t mind if I asked him out?” Shelly asked with a small grin on her face and her eyebrows rising up. She of course had no intention of doing that, but wanted to see how Kate would react.

Kate huffed at her and just replied, “whatever,” and set the drinks on the tray. 

“Sweetie, you know I’d never do that in a million years. But maybe it’s time you looked past that little rule of yours. You seemed so infatuated with him from your first meeting.”

“It was just one day and one kiss, Shelly,” Kate replied back, still trying to convince herself as much as Shelly. “It really wasn’t that big of a deal.” 

“If you say so,” Shelly said as she picked up the tray and headed back to her customers.

The dinner crowd had cleared out and only a few customers remained as Shelly and the other waitress wrapped up their shifts and left for the night. There were 3 men playing darts in the back that were regulars and would come in once a week for drinks and darts. Kate knew two of them well as they had also grown up in town and gone to school together. It was a little past nine and with it being a Tuesday night, she was thinking of closing up early as soon as they were done. She had just taken them another round of beers and was putting her tray on the bar as she heard the door open.

“We’re going to be closing up soon,” she said as she turned toward the door. Damn-it, she thought to herself as she spun around to see those blue eyes staring back at her. She let out a frustrated sigh and clenched her jaw. 

“Can I kindly get a Guinness before you close?” he asked with a pleading look and that achingly attractive Irish accent. He tried to smile, but couldn’t quite get past the cold stare she was giving him.

“Fine,” she said and walked behind the bar. She poured him a pint from the tap and set it in front of him on the bar.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you I was an actor when we met,” he said apologetically.

She sighed and shook her head, “But why-- why didn’t you mention it? How would you even know it would matter?” She really hadn’t taken the time to think through that aspect of what had happened. 

His gaze fell from her face to his drink, his forehead wrinkling up into a worried expression. He didn’t have to say a word, for her to know the answer.

She clenched her jaw again and then spoke only a single word, “Mac.”

He looked back up at her and nodded. She was even more furious now that Mac had known all this time, since that day, and never warned her, never told her. What on earth was he thinking? She did feel a tiny bit sorry for Aidan at that point. Mac had really set him up that day in so many ways. And the poor guy had no idea what he was getting himself into.

“Can we start over?” he asked the corners of his mouth turning to a slight smile as his eyes widened with a hopeful expression.

“I’m sorry, but I have a rule against d--- ” her voice trailed off realizing what she was about to say was a bit presumptuous given they’d only spent one day together. “I just really don’t like actors,” She spat out coldly and left him sitting there, as she walked back down to where she’d left the tray earlier at the other end of the bar. 

He picked up his drink and followed her to the other end. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see he was chewing on his lip and fidgeting his tongue against his teeth again. When he finally spoke his voice was a bit shaky and either unsure of himself or of what sort of reaction he would get from her, “You seemed to not mind me so much before you knew I was an actor.” 

At that point the other 3 men had finished their game and were saying their goodbyes as they walked through the bar. The tallest of the 3 stopped at the bar and gave Aidan a suspicious look. He was several inches taller than Aidan and at least 50 pounds heavier. He handed Kate some bills and asked if that was enough to cover their tab. She nodded back.

“Do you want me to stay until this guy’s done with his drink?” He asked keeping his gaze firmly locked on Aidan.

“It’s fine Joe,” Kate assured him. “I know him, I’ll be fine. Tell Vicky I said hi, okay?”

The guy didn’t look terribly happy and kept glaring at Aidan, but finally headed toward the door after saying good night to Kate. She walked behind him and flipped off the Open sign that was illuminated near the door.

As the door closed Aidan looked over at the dart board. He wasn’t ready to give up that easily. “How about a wager?” he asked, hoping that her competitive streak might work in his favor.

She sighed and looked at him, “what do you have in mind?” she asked as her eyes narrowed but her anger was still clearly there.

“Whoever gets the best score with 3 darts wins. If you win, I promise I won’t bother you again, but if I win, then you give me a chance and get to know me before you completely write me off. Deal?”

She remembered how dreadful he was at the farm when they had played darts, and figured this would be an easy way to get rid of him. She wasn’t exactly sure why he would suggest it though, but in any case, if this would get him to leave her alone, she was all for it. At least she thought she was.

“Deal” she said back, not yet smiling, but some of the anger had left her face and her jaws were no longer clenched tightly. 

She walked to the dart board and retrieved the darts.

“Ladies first,” he insisted.

She nodded and threw her first dart. It was almost a bull’s-eye, but hit on the outer part of the ring. “25 points” she said.

“Good shot,” he said and stood up to take his turn. He hit the triple 20 space and smiled back to her, “60 points for me.”

Her face changed from being tense and angry, to suddenly a bit confused and concerned. She decided it was just a lucky shot and threw again. She decided two could play at that game and went after the same spot, but her aim was off slightly and she didn’t get the triple. 

“That makes 45 for you”, he said as he took his place to throw. 

“Yes, I can count,” she snapped back at him.

He threw his second dart, seemingly unfazed by her snapping at him and this one being a perfect bulls-eye. “110 to 45. You know even if you get the triple 20 and I miss, I’m still going to win this.”

Her temper got the better of her at this point, “What the hell!” She blurted out. “How did you--? Did you intentionally lose at the farm?”

“Well it wouldn’t have been very gentlemanly of me to make you carry my bag up the stairs, now would it?” He said with a mischievous smile forming on his lips.

She hurled her last dart at the board, not really caring where it landed and marched back to the bar.

“Come on Kate,” he called after her. He threw his last dart, hitting the triple 20 again, though she wasn’t looking, and followed her back to the bar. He took a seat on the stool opposite from where she was standing behind the bar.

“You tricked me,” she finally said, her eyes filled with rage.

“Aye, maybe I did lass,” he said looking at her with his expression clearly turning to guilt. “I’ll be a gentleman and not hold you to the deal if that will make you happy.”

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Damn him and Damn Mac. Her jaw clenched tightly again. She didn’t really know what would make her happy. Part of her had been so excited to see him again, before she found out that he was an actor. The thought of never seeing him again didn’t seem to make her happy either, even though that would probably be easier. Instead of answering she started fidgeting with the glasses behind the bar.

It was quite obvious that she was struggling with what answer to give him. He didn’t want to walk away from her forever, but was smart enough to know pushing on her now was not going to be in his best interest. 

“I should go so you can close up,” he finally said to break the silence. “How much do I owe you for the drink?” he asked pulling his wallet out. 

She had been looking down at the glasses for longer than she meant to and looked up at his face again when he spoke. Any sign of hopefulness seemed to have vanished and the face looking back at her made her heart hurt in her chest. She knew that heart broken look from her own face a few years ago. Maybe she was overreacting to the situation, but she also didn’t want to lead him on.

“It’s on the house,” she said as she grabbed the empty glass in front of him, still no sign of a smile on her face, but her anger had subsided a bit and was being replaced by sadness instead.

“Thanks,” he said standing up from his stool and walking toward the door. “It really is a fantastic pub.” He said trying to end on some sort of good note before heading out the door.

As the door closed, so did her eyes and she rested her head in her hands, elbows bracing against the bar. Her fingers kneading at her forehead as she stood there for a moment. She could feel tears starting to form and that fact alone made her even angrier. She took a deep breath and tried to fight off the feeling. She slowly walked to the door and locked it before anyone else came in or he had a change of heart and returned. Turning off the main lights, she walked back through the kitchen and locked the back door behind her as she headed up to her empty apartment. 

She was still struggling over the feelings she had felt for him as she climbed the stairs, but the pain from her past was slowly winning the battle over whether to give him a chance. She only hoped he would perhaps make it easier for her and not come back to see her again. Though some where deep down, the thought of that made her sad too and she doubted he was ready to give up either. Bloody stubborn Irish, she thought to herself, knowing she was just as guilty as any other for that. Thinking again of their dart match did finally bring a little smile to her face. He had played her quite well with that one, and even though she was furious, it was still a bit surprising to her that he had fooled her so well at the farm. As she climbed into bed, her final thoughts were of his sparkling blue eyes and his warm smile that first greeted her at lunch time.


	3. Boys Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate deals with boys night out at the bar.

Kate’s alarm went off at 6:30 and she decided going for a run might be a good way to work out some of the mixed emotions raging through her brain about the day before. She liked running down along the bay front and it always seemed soothing to hear the water splashing along the rocks and the shore. It was a lovely morning for a mid-September day and she came back from the run feeling a little less on edge than before. 

When she got out of the shower, she saw she had missed a call from Ellie on her phone. She had stopped for a cup of coffee on the way back and took a sip as she called her back.

“Hey sweetie,” Ellie answered on the other end. “Are you OK? I heard what happened yesterday.”

Kate was a little surprised that Ellie already knew she’d run into Aidan, but figured Shelly probably told her about him being there at lunch since Shelly and Ellie were also friends.

“Yeah, did Shelly tell you?” Kate inquired.

“Actually no,” Ellie hesitated a moment and then said, “Mac did.”

Kate was surprised by that and was trying to figure out how on earth he could have known what happened yesterday. “Oh,” was all she could blurt out while she was contemplating it.

“I’m sorry my husband is such a dim witted idiot sometimes,” Ellie continued. “I had no idea Aidan was an actor and Mac didn’t give it much thought because I hadn’t told him about the kiss and how you felt about him, as you’d asked when you told Shelly and I what had happened. Anyway, apparently after you left the farm they started talking about shooting and hunting and had talked about going out shooting sometime and exchanged numbers. He sent Mac a text when he left the bar last night since he was so worried about upsetting you and was looking for advice I guess.”

“Or warning him to watch his ass,” Kate shot back.

“Perhaps,” Ellie replied a bit softer than before, then continued in her normal tone again. “So Mac called and talked to him for a while last night after he got the text, but I was asleep already and he just told me what happened before he left for work this morning. I’m so sorry Katie. You know Mac loves you as much as I do and he’d never do anything intentionally to hurt you. He didn’t tell you at first because he was afraid you’d leave him out on the trail if you knew, and then he didn’t really think it mattered since he’s clueless and didn’t realize that you actually liked him. That man makes the absolute worst decisions sometimes.”

Ellie stopped talking to give Kate a chance to reply, but there was just silence. “Hey, how about you have lunch with Bella and I today?” 

“Um--- “ Kate stalled for a minute, “I don’t think I can get away for lunch today. Shelly’s working on one of the sets today I think, so I’ll need to be at the bar to help with lunch.”

“Well how about we grab a coffee with you between shifts then? We can head over to the coffee shop and get something sweet for dessert and coffee?” Ellie suggested.

Kate knew it was pointless to try to argue with Ellie about it, so agreed to meet her at the coffee shop at 3:00. After hanging up, she took a deep breath and headed down stairs to busy herself with getting the bar set up for lunch to hopefully keep her mind occupied and not thinking about Aidan.

They were pretty busy for a Wednesday afternoon. With several production crews being in town, more tourists had been arriving too, and business had picked up a bit. She kept a sharp eye open hoping that she wouldn’t have to deal with him again today. She felt fairly safe as the cast on the productions generally didn’t make it off set more than once a week for lunch with their busy schedules. That and they tried to bounce around to the various eating venues so not to make a pattern that fans could easily catch on to. 

It was a few minutes before 3:00 and she let Sean know she was going to head over to meet Ellie and Bella. She was walking quickly down the sidewalk checking her phone when she turned the corner and practically ran into someone coming out of the coffee shop with a bag and a coffee. She looked up and saw those piercing blue eyes again.

“What the… Stalking me now?” She asked with a frown forming across her face.

“What? No. I…” he stammered out, clearly in shock at seeing her there and nearly running directly into her. “I… I just had a few minutes between shots and someone said the coffee and éclairs were exceptional here, so I was just picking something up to go back to the set with.” He looked nervously from her to the sidewalk and back again. 

She sighed and relaxed her frown a bit. “Well you’d better get back before they miss you,” she said and quickly walked past him into the coffee shop.

Ellie and Bella were sitting at a little table in the corner and she’d already ordered drinks for them all as well as their favorite brownies. 

“Kitty Cat!” Bella said at the sight of her and ran over and gave her a big hug. Bella’s presence made it a little easier to smile and temporarily forget her troubles. 

They both returned to the table and sat down with Ellie. Kate couldn’t help but notice the look on Ellie’s face. She must have seen their little exchange through the window. 

“Let me guess, that was him wasn’t it?” she asked, raising her eyebrow in that way she always did when she wasn’t about to let Kate get away with a lie.

“How’d you figure that out?” Kate asked back.

“Well there aren’t a lot of handsome Irishmen just floating around town and I could hear his accent as he was ordering at the counter.” She sighed and frowned a bit, “so much for my idea of helping you take your mind off of him.”

Kate did her best to smile back at her. “I just have the worst luck don’t I?”

Ellie just smiled and took a drink of her coffee. Bella started telling Kate about a huge caterpillar she’d found at the barn and at least for the next 30 minutes, Kate was mostly able to keep those blue eyes and Irish accent off her mind.

Kate was relieved that he hadn’t stopped back by the bar on Wednesday after their almost collision on the sidewalk, and had made it through lunch on Thursday with no sight of him as well. She was just finishing up clearing the lunch dishes when Mac came in. She shot him an angry glare as he walked over to Sean at the bar and asked for a soda. She kept walking carrying the tray of dirty dishes back to the kitchen.

“I’m really sorry Kate,” he said as she returned through the kitchen door. “I had no idea that you were interested in him, or I would have said something sooner.”

She was still keeping up the angry act with him as he wasn’t getting off that easy. She poured herself an ice tea and leaned against the counter next to Sean. 

“I suppose I should have realized something was up though, the way he came back in the house with such a big grin on his face, and now that I think about it, I don’t think he actually did bring in anything from his Jeep.”

Kate shook her head at him and sighed. “Seriously Mac, you’ve got to be one of the dumbest guys I know!” She finally said.

“Please forgive me Kate!” He pleaded in a funny voice that he mostly used with Bella. “How can I go on living if you don’t. If not for me, think of poor Bella,” making huge puppy dog eyes and a big pout on his lips for added effect.

She rolled her eyes at him and took a drink of her ice tea. “Fine, but don’t think you’ll get away with any more trickery mister.”

He laughed at her and then his expression turned a bit more serious and he looked down at the bar, “Um, its Thursday you know.” 

“Yes Mac, very good that you’ve learned the days of the week,” she responded wondering what he was up to now.

“It’s just, you know, Danny and I always come in for drinks and something to eat on Thursdays when he gets off work.” His expression changing to one she recognized all too well.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “You didn’t invite your new buddy to come along on your boys night out did you?” Her tone growing a bit angry again.

He gave her a big grin and nodded. “Which is why I’m here, I wanted to see if it was going to be a problem for you or not, given what I now know. We could always go to the Iron Spike instead, but you know that Pete and I don’t really get along and Thursday nights they have karaoke and you know how much Danny hates that.”

Kate noticed her uncle’s expression change from being amused with their conversation, to annoyed at the mention of Pete’s name. Her uncle and the other bar owner never got along and she knew sending Mac and Danny there was not going to sit well with him either. She clenched her jaws for a moment and then finally replied, “Fine, just try to keep him away from me please.”

Mac smiled and took the last drink of his soda. “You’re the best!” he said as he tossed a few dollars on the bar and headed for the door. “See you later tonight” he called back as he walked out and the door closed behind him.

Sean gave her a concerned look. “Do you want to take the night off, so you won’t have to deal with it?”

She shook her head, “no Shelly’s still off tonight, so I’d better stick around and make sure we don’t get too busy. I’ll be fine. Everyone’s making a much bigger deal out of this than they should. I only spent a day with him, and now that I know he’s an actor, well, I can be civil.” 

He raised his eyebrows at her and a smirk flashed across his face. “Civil, actors and you, aren’t exactly three things that come to mind as generally going together.” 

She rolled her eyes at him and grabbed Mac’s glass and headed to the kitchen with it and hers. “I promise I’ll behave,” she said as she disappeared into the back.

It was a little after 5:00 when she glanced at the clock on the wall. She was glad she’d have at least an hour before they showed up since Danny didn’t get off work until 6:00. By that time there should be more customers in for dinner and she could stay busy and avoid them she hoped. She was carrying a tub full of glasses that had just come out of the dishwasher in the kitchen to replace them under the bar. She was bent down putting some of them in the far back of the shelf, when she heard the door open and close and she stood up to greet whoever had entered. She nearly jumped when those blue eyes were staring directly back at her from across the bar. 

She sighed and narrowed her eyes a bit at him, “You know Mac won’t be here for about another hour right?”

“I know,” he said nervously with his tongue starting to rub at his teeth again, “but I wrapped up my scenes early and I was starving and in need of a beer, so thought I’d just head over early.” He was looking at her with an expression that bordered on apologetic, biting at his bottom lip in addition to his tongue rubbing at his teeth.

“Whatever,” she said and started toward the kitchen.

“Can I get a…” he started to call out to her before she cut him off.

“Oh, I’ll get you something to eat.” And she disappeared behind the kitchen door.

He let out an exasperated sigh and Sean couldn’t help but chuckle. “Guinness?” he asked.

“Yes, thanks mate,” Aidan replied as Sean poured a glass from the tap and set it in front of him.

“I heard about your little dart stunt,” Sean said as Aidan was taking a drink from the beer.

His cheeks became a bit more flushed and he nervously looked down at the bar. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

Sean chuckled back, “No need to apologize Lad. I love my niece, but sometimes she can be a bit of a troublesome lass. It’s nice when someone challenges her a bit. Actually, it reminds me of how her dad met her mum. She was on a school exchange over in Ireland during college and he met her at a pub there and got her to go out on a date with him by beating her at darts.” 

Sean started putting away the rest of the glasses that Kate had left when she huffed off to the kitchen. “If I remember right, he’d been playing pretty poorly because his mate had challenged him to play with his left hand instead of his right. He’d caught her and her friend watching them and was immediately smitten with her. So he got up the courage to challenge her to a game. Of course when he switched to his regular right hand he was easily able to beat her. She must not have been too furious about it, since they ended up married after all.” 

Aidan smiled back. “What did she get if she won?”

“Hm,” Sean replied with his brow starting to wrinkle, “I’m not exactly sure he ever told me that part of the story. He and Kate use to play darts all the time when she was old enough to learn to throw them. She’d gotten quite good at it, though I don’t think she’s played as much these past few years. I’m sure she was a sight to see when you beat her. I saw the two darts in the triple 20 when I got to the bar the next morning. You must be quite good.”

Kate returned from the kitchen at that point carrying a plate which she plopped down in front of Aidan. “You’re specialty sir,” she said with a wicked grin and turned and headed back to the kitchen.

Aidan looked down to see a grilled cheese sandwich, that was a tad on the over done side staring back at him. He chuckled to himself then said to Sean, “She is a feisty lass isn’t she?” 

Sean laughed and replied, “Oh lad, you have no idea.”

Sean suggested they check to see if there were any rugby matches on TV to watch and Aidan agreed that sounded excellent as he ate the half-charred grilled cheese sandwich and worked on his Guinness. He was so relieved that Kate’s uncle seemed to not share her same dislike for actors and that he was actually a really friendly guy. He figured he was probably in his late 50’s and while he was a little on the stout side, he could tell he was fairly muscular too. His hair was mostly white with a few strands of a light ginger still showing around his temple. They started chatting about where they both grew up in Ireland and some of the same towns they’d visited. It was so nice to talk to someone from there, as he had started feeling more home sick the longer he’d been in Canada.

When Kate returned to the kitchen, she’d sent Mac a text to let him know his buddy had arrived already. His reply was a short “sorry, be there ASAP.” She grabbed the tub of silverware to finish getting the tables set up for dinner. The other waitress had just returned from running something to the post office, and saw that Kate wasn’t her normal friendly self. 

“Everything alright?” She asked cautiously as she hung her jacket by the door. “I can do that if you’d like.” Eva was quite a bit younger than Shelly and Kate, and a bit on the shy side, but she was a hard worker and never complained about picking up extra shifts when Shelly was gone. She also liked to change her hair style a lot, and was sporting a look that included bright pink streaks spread through out a very platinum blonde a-line cut at the moment. Her concerned expression caught Kate a bit off guard and she could sense that Eva thought she was in trouble for something.

“Oh it’s nothing. You’re fine,” Kate assured her. “I’ve got this if you want to go out front and see if any dinner customers have arrived.”

Eva smiled softly and headed back out to the bar. Kate took a deep breath and carried the tub out and didn’t even glance at her uncle or Aidan as she headed straight to the tables that still needed to be set up. As she worked, she could hear the two men talking and laughing every once in a while. She also heard them occasionally making comments about the rugby game they’d finally found to watch. Great, she thought to herself, now they are becoming friends too. Figures the two Irishmen would bond over a Guinness and Rugby.

Mac arrived a little before 6:00 and he and Aidan moved back to a table in the corner near the dart boards. He’d shot an apologetic smile at Kate as he walked in, which she returned with a cold glare. 

There were more customers by that point and both Kate and Eva were staying busy taking orders and bringing out food. Eva looked a bit confused when Kate didn’t follow Mac back to the table, as Kate normally always took care of Mac and his friends whenever they were in the bar. She also saw the look Kate had shot him. She chewed on her bottom lip with a worried look and then asked Kate if she should go get their order since she wasn’t quite sure what else to do.

Kate felt really bad that poor Eva had no idea what was going on, but also didn’t feel like explaining the situation to her. She told her they were still waiting on another guy, but if she wanted to go and get them started with drinks, that would be great. 

Danny arrived a short while later. Danny was a little under 6 foot tall, towering about 6 inches over Kate. He had light brown hair that recently he’d been keeping shorter than how he used to wear it. He seemed to have finally figured out that being an E.M.T. and looking like a rocker, didn’t instill a lot of confidence in the people he was helping. He had eyes that depending on what he was wearing looked either bluish green or just green. When he was off-work, he still dressed like he always had though, jeans that may or may not have had a few holes in them, a t-shirt that may or may not have been recently washed, and some sort of hoodie that may or may not have had its sleeves cut off.

Kate was near the bar when he walked in, and he shot her a warm smile and walked over to give her a hug. “How’s my favorite bar maid?” he asked as he took a step back after hugging her.

She rolled her eyes at him, then shook her head and laughed a bit. “Fabulous,” she replied then shot back, “and how’s my favorite EX-boyfriend?” perhaps emphasizing the “ex” a bit more than necessary.

“Well at least I’m your favorite at something.” He winked and laughed back. “Hey Sean,” he called out as he headed toward the back to sit with Mac and Aidan.

Kate watched as he walked back though the bar. She was glad Aidan was sitting with his back to her so she wouldn’t have to see those piercing blue eyes watching her. She wondered what sort of trouble the three of them might get into though. She cringed a bit remembering that Aidan had mentioned playing guitar and her reply to that. Hopefully he won’t remember, she thought to herself, and if he does, hopefully he won’t figure out that Danny was the guy she’d dated who tried to teach her to play. Danny still did play with a group of guys and once or twice a month on Saturdays they would even play at the pub. Given that, she feared the topic of guitars would likely come up.

Eva returned with drinks for Aidan and Mac and took their order when Danny sat down. There were quite a few more customers coming in and by the time their order was ready, Eva was tied up with a large group that had finally been ready to order. Kate sighed and grabbed their food and headed back to the corner. 

“Hey beautiful,” Danny said as she approached the table, “I was beginning to think I wasn’t your favorite anymore,” he said with a wink. “Eva’s sweet and all, but she can’t compare to your absolute perfection.”

She tried her best to not get flustered by that, but could feel her heart racing a bit faster. She rolled her eyes at him and set the plates down. Danny and Mac always ordered the same meals every Thursday, so it was pretty easy to guess where the plates were suppose to go. She was standing closest to Danny, and after she had set all the plates down he reached out and gently grabbed her free hand and pulled it up to his lips and kissed the back of it.

“Thanks sweetheart,” he said after the kiss, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand. “Are you too busy to join us for a while? It’s just not the same without you. You know I only agree to Mac’s dinners so I have an excuse to see you.”

“It’s a bit too busy tonight with Shelly off,” she replied in a serious tone as she pulled her hand back. 

Danny cocked his head and looked at her at her a little suspiciously. “Have you met Aidan?” He asked, completely unaware that anything had happened with the two of them. 

She nodded, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t look directly at Aidan, but could see out of the corner of her eye that he was staring at his plate and not at her. Danny had started to pick up that something wasn’t quite right with the way she was acting, but continued talking anyway. “He plays guitar too and we’re going to get together and play a bit when he has some spare time. Maybe we can convince you to sing with us again.” He added with a mischievous grin.

“Yeah, that’s never happening,” she said, her voice finally starting to sound a little less tense, and grabbed their empty glasses. “Another round?” she asked.

“I’d better switch to Ice Tea,” Mac answered trying his best to not smirk at what was going on, and Aidan also said he’d take Ice Tea while Danny said he’d take another beer and may have mumbled “lightweights” under his breath. 

Danny picked up one of his fries, and tapped it to his lip, “Darling, I do believe you forgot to bring me my special sauce,” looking up at her with a seductive grin and slowly taking a bite of the fry, “for my fries of course.” 

Her heart started pounding again. Why should it bother her if Danny flirts with her in front of him. If she doesn’t care about him, then it shouldn’t matter, and she shouldn’t care about him. But something deep inside was still making her feel uneasy about it. She forced a smile at Danny and tried to muster up some playful banter, “Terribly sorry my dear, I’ll grab it with the drinks.” Well that sounded lame, she thought to herself as she walked back to the bar.

Once she was out of ear shot, Danny turned to Mac and asked what the hell was up with her tonight. Mac shrugged and took a bite of his food. Aidan also seemed to develop a fixation with his plate as well. Danny looked at them both, and then said he’d go help Kate with the drinks and stood up and walked to the bar. 

“You okay Kate?” he asked as he stood across the bar from her. “Something is obviously bugging you tonight. And Mac might be playing dumb, but I’m guessing he knows what’s going on and just isn’t saying.”

Danny knew her too well and while Mac could be an oblivious idiot sometimes, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get anything by Danny. She took a deep breath while she was trying to figure out what to say. He could tell now that there was definitely something going on and that she really didn’t want to tell him. He also knew he had no right to make her tell him either. He enjoyed how they’d been able to stay good friends through all the years and crap that had happened in both of their lives and he certainly didn’t want to jeopardize that. 

“Hey,” he finally said, smiling softly at her. “It’s OK, I shouldn’t have put you on the spot about it. But if there’s anything I can do, you’d let me know right?”

She sighed and smiled back at him. “Of course I would.” 

He winked at her and took the tray of drinks, “and you know you can ask me for anything to help take your mind off your problems right? Anything, anytime, day or night.” 

She blushed a little as she rolled her eyes at him. Of course he would emphasize the night part of that. They’d ended up having sex several times over the last couple of years, either when he was feeling needy after getting dumped by his latest never-ending string of girlfriends, or when she just felt lonely and knew he wasn’t with anyone at the time. It always seemed to start out with shots in the bar on a Thursday night after Mac went home. Then ended up with them waking up the next morning upstairs in her apartment with horrible hangovers and swearing they’d never do that again. 

He turned and walked back to the table, dropping their drinks off and bringing the tray back to the bar. “I’d make a pretty good bar maid, wouldn’t I?” he teased her as he set the tray down. “Just let me know if you feel like doing shots later tonight,” he added with another wink.

“That’s not happening either,” she said shooting him a look that he knew all too well.

“You can’t blame a guy for trying,” he replied with a chuckle, grabbed the bottle of steak sauce off the counter, and headed back to the table.

Kate was glad that Sean had been in the kitchen during her interaction with Danny. She didn’t think he knew about their little Thursday night indiscretions, and really didn’t want him to find out now. 

The restaurant started clearing out, and there were only a few tables of customers left, including Mac, Danny and Aidan. They’d finished eating, and Eva had just picked up their plates when they headed over toward the dart board.

“Hey gorgeous,” Danny called over to Kate at the bar, “are you going to play with us tonight?”

She looked over and did her best to smile back at him. She caught Aidan looking at her, but he quickly looked back toward the dart board when he saw her look his direction. 

“You have to give us our chance to get our drinks for free,” Danny teased back. At some point when they started having their Thursday night dinners, they had started that silly tradition. They were never able to actually beat her, but always insisted that they play a round anyway. 

“I’ll play you and Mac, but not him,” she said as she walked over towards them. 

“That’s a bit harsh,” Danny replied starting to get suspicious now about how well Kate knew Aidan.

Aidan had been very good about not bothering her after Mac arrived, but he just couldn’t help himself any longer. “How about if I play left handed?” 

She practically froze in her tracks, as her eyes widened and she stared at him. How the hell? Sean. She sighed and replied, “fine, that’s fair I guess.”

“What are you some sort of dart pro?” Danny asked Aidan as Mac walked over to get the darts. 

Aidan smiled a bit embarrassed, “actually I did win some tournaments back in Ireland.” He glanced over at Kate and bit at his lower lip looking a bit nervous. “But I swear that I’m not very good with my left hand.”

Danny glanced at Kate and caught a bit of a scowl on her face. Pieces were starting to fall into place now. He wasn’t sure exactly what had happened between the two of them, but the fact that she’d pretty much avoided them all night, when normally she’d try to visit as much as possible, was starting to make sense. 

Danny walked over and put his hand on Kate’s lower back. “Ladies first, of course,” He said as he guided her to the throw line. He could sense her tense up when his hand landed there, but he kept it there until Mac handed her a dart. He leaned in a bit closer and whispered good luck in her ear. Kate spun and looked at him with a bit more fire in her eyes now. She put her hand on his chest and pushed him away. “No cheating with distractions,” she said and focused on the board.

Aidan either really was bad with his left hand, or just didn’t want to upset Kate again, but she easily beat all three of them as they finished up the game. The three guys had made a side bet that the loser out of them would pick up the tab for their meal. Kate did feel a little bad that Aidan probably wouldn’t have lost that deal if it wasn’t for her, but didn’t dwell on it. 

Mac said he needed to get home since it was getting a little late, and Aidan said he needed to leave too. Aidan stopped at the bar to say good bye to Sean and reached across the counter to shake his hand.

“It was a pleasure to meet you,” Aidan said as he shook his hand.

Sean smiled back and told him not to be a stranger and to stop in if he felt like watching a game or having a drink. “Don’t let my feisty niece scare you away. It’s nice to have a friendly Irish face in the pub every once in a while.” 

Aidan smiled back, more than grateful for Sean’s kindness. Kate had walked over to the bar carrying a tray with empty glasses from another table. 

“It was nice seeing you again Kate,” Aidan managed to say with a small smile. “Thanks for the delicious grilled cheese sandwich too.” He gave her a little wink and headed out the door with Mac.

There were only a few other customers left in the bar and Eva was over chatting with several of them. Sean smiled at Kate and said if she had it under control he was going to head home. Kate hadn’t even thought about how late he had stayed since she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts and felt a bit guilty now. He’d stuck around later than normal to make sure everything went smoothly with Aidan being there. She nodded and smiled and he headed toward the kitchen to leave.

Danny took a seat at the bar. She walked to stand on the opposite side across from him.

“Is it shots time yet?” He asked her with a wicked grin, raising off his stool and leaning much closer to her than before.

She shoved his shoulder back and pushed him back into his stool. He chuckled and asked for another beer then instead. 

“So, you and the Irish Actor,” he said as she handed him his beer. “That’s a very interesting combination.”

“What are you talking about,” she said not ready to admit anything was going on, especially not to him.

“Come on Kate. I’m not as oblivious to things as Mac. It was pretty easy to tell something was going on between you too, or had gone on at least. It just took me a little time to figure it out.”

She sighed and decided it was better to throw a little bit of the story out for him so he’d hopefully just drop it. “Fine, we met a few weeks ago out at Mac’s, and I didn’t know he was an actor until he came back into town with the production crew. You know how I feel about actors.” 

He studied her face as she was talking, trying to read what was really going on in her head. “So something happened at the farm, before you found out he was an actor?”

“I didn’t say anything happened, Danny.” She replied back quickly. “Not that it’s any of your business anyway.”

He reached across the bar and grabbed her hand, pulling her a little closer to him across the bar. He leaned up toward her again so that their faces were only a few inches apart. His voice dropped much lower than before, “Kate, besides Mac, you are one of my best friends in the world. It kills me when you’re not happy. I can see that look in your eyes, one I haven’t seen for a long time. I know you and I could never work out, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy and find someone that deserves to be with you. And you tend to put blinders on at times that maybe you need to take off.”

“What… what are you talking about,” she said barely above a whisper, completely caught off guard by him.

He shot her a smile, but it was clearly laced with a bit of pity too. “Once I figured out something was up, I watched him while we played darts. It was quite obvious to anyone, well anyone other than Mac, and perhaps you, how infatuated he is with you. He seems like a really great guy Kate. If Mac hadn’t told me he was an actor, I never would have guessed it from hanging out with him tonight. Maybe you should give him a chance and get past that grudge you’re holding on to.”

She shook her head and pulled her hand away, standing up straight again. “I… you don’t know what you’re talking about. I can’t go through that again, Danny. I thought you of all people would understand that.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” He kept staring into her eyes as he spoke. “I really do just want you to be happy Kate.”

The last customers had left and Eva was done cleaning off the tables. It was just the three of them left in the bar now. Eva asked if there was anything else she could do before she left for the evening. Kate shook her head and was able to force out a thank you and good night as Eva headed back toward the kitchen to leave.

Kate sighed and reached down for a pair of shot glasses and set them on the bar. She spun around and grabbed her favorite bottle of Vodka. Danny raised his eyebrows and gave her a questioning look as she started to pour the shots.

She picked up one of the glasses and held it out to him. He slowly reached up and took it, but when she picked up the other and held it out for their customary toast, he didn’t move and set the shot on the bar in front of him.

“Come on Danny, one shot isn’t going to hurt anything?” 

He looked down at the shot glass and up at her gorgeous green eyes that were more conflicted than he’d seen in a very long time. There was something very different than the other nights they had ended up here. The other times she was either just lonely or feeling sorry for him, but these eyes looking back at him this time were so much different. It had been a very long time since he’d seen the look that was there now, conflicted and sad. It reminded him too much of when she first came back from LA. He just couldn’t tell if what he was seeing was just her churning up all those old feelings again because he was an actor and reminded her of the past, or if it was new feelings for Aidan that she was trying to ignore and that was slowly eating away at her. He had a feeling though based on her reaction to what he’d said that it was latter.

“When have we ever stopped at just one Kate?” He asked softly.

She sat hers down on the bar as well and looked back at him for a moment. Whatever strength she’d found before to at least put on a strong façade was slowly fading away. She rested her arms on the bar, leaning forward and stared down at the shot glass. She let out a loud sigh. 

He leaned across the bar and kissed her forehead. “I’d better go before I change my mind.” He said softly as he stood up from the bar stool and headed toward the door. He took a deep breath as he stopped by the door and looked back at her. 

He turned back around and reached for the door as she spoke, “You’ve never turned me down before Danny, why this time?”

He looked back at her from the door and let out a little sigh, “I really liked this one Kate, and I think you know you do too.” 

As the door closed behind him, she reached for her shot glass, feeling the burn in her throat as she swallowed it down. She did the same with his after she finished hers. She needed a couple shots of vodka considering the week she was having. It would have been easier to not think about it if Danny had stayed to take her mind off of him, but she knew deep down that Danny was right. She locked up and turned the main lights off, took a third shot, and headed up to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Friday and Saturday went by without any sign of Aidan, and with it being the busiest times at the pub, Kate was relieved she could keep her mind off of it. Sunday finally arrived and she was looking forward to going out to ride Shadow. The weather had turned a bit cooler and overcast, but the rain had stayed away, so the trail wouldn’t be muddy yet. When she pulled into the driveway and was almost to the barns, she realized his black Jeep was parked up near the house. Great, she thought as she parked down by the stables and climbed out.

She looked out at the pasture and saw Captain and three of the Mares, but Tink wasn’t with the others. She started walking toward Shadow’s stall grumbling to herself about him being there. She wasn’t sure what to expect with that when she realized she heard a horse trotting in the arena. She patted Shadow on the head and decided to go see who was riding. She was relieved to see it was just Ellie and Bella. Ellie had Tink on a lead and Bella was sitting in the saddle while Ellie had Tink doing a small circle around her on the lead. 

Bella saw Kate first and yelled out “Kitty Cat!”, which got Ellie’s attention too. She smiled and shortened the lead on Tink and walked over to where Kate was standing. 

“Good morning sweetie,” Ellie said as she was getting close. 

“I see you have company,” Kate said with a tad bit of annoyance in her voice.

“Yeah, he came out early this morning and he and Mac went out to do some hunting, or shooting, or just walking around the lower part of the woods pretending they are looking for something to hunt. I really don’t think there’s anything that they’ll ever find out there to shoot, but you know how guys are sometimes.” Ellie replied with a smile. “He had breakfast with us first, I hate to admit it, but he really does seem like a nice guy Kate.”

“He talks just like Uncle Sean and tells funny stories,” Bella added with a big grin.

Kate took a deep breath before exhaling slowly and then smiled up at Bella. “So he’s winning over everyone I know, eh?” then a little quieter so Bella wouldn’t hear she mumbled to Ellie, “God, even Danny thought he was a great guy.”

“Well I wouldn’t say Danny is qualified to judge anyone’s character,” Ellie said with a bit of annoyance now in her voice. “But I guess I’ll agree with him this time.”

Kate chuckled a bit. Ellie did not like Danny at all, although she was considerate enough to never make a deal about Mac and Danny being friends. She was the reason they always met at the pub as she’d more or less forbidden Danny from being invited out to the farm. Danny had been even wilder when he was younger and Ellie never forgave him for getting her little sister mixed up in a drunken skinny dipping threesome in his parents’ pool. At least they were all over 18, but Ellie was still furious when she found out. Kate wasn’t terribly surprised when she found out since Ellie’s younger sister was a bit of a wild one as well. She just happened to get caught that time, but Kate knew of plenty other things she never told Ellie.

“I was thinking we could ride up to the falls with you today, if you’d like some company, but if you were looking forward to being alone, I understand that too.”

Kate bit at her bottom lip for a moment, and Ellie immediately knew that she was hoping for some time alone.

“No worries,” she smiled back at her. “Will you stay for dinner with us at least? Bella really wanted to show you the new doll house that Mac and her just finished building. I have my special chili in the crock pot and made fresh corn bread this morning too.”

Kate sighed and bit at her lip again.

“Kate if you don’t stop that you’re going to have horrible chapped lips!” Ellie teased her. 

“Will Aidan be staying for dinner?” Kate asked reluctantly.

Ellie sighed, “I don’t know, but even if he is, would that really be that bad Kate? It’s not like it’s a date or something. I’m sure he and Mac will probably just be watching football or some other sport on TV anyway.”

“Please stay for dinner Kitty Cat!” Bella called down from the horse.

Kate smiled, “well if Bella wants me to stay, how can I say no to that.” 

Kate really enjoyed the nice quiet ride up to the falls. Her mind kept wandering back to the day she met Aidan though. She didn’t stay quite as long at the falls as she normally would, but got restless and decided to head back. As she was riding across the pasture that was visible from the house, Mac came out and headed toward the stables. 

“I thought I could help you put your gear away and bring in the other horses,” Mac said as she reached him near the barns. 

“Where’s your new best friend?” She asked with an annoyed look on her face.

Mac laughed back and then replied, “Bella insisted he watch Brave with her since he said he’d never seen it before. So they are either finishing that up, or she’s making him have a tea party with her.”

Kate smirked as she climbed off Shadow. He offered to get the gear off Shadow if she wanted to start bringing in the other horses. It didn’t take them long to get everything put away and all of the horses fed. 

“Any luck on your big hunt?” Kate asked as they started walking toward the house.

Mac laughed, “As much as any other time I go out. But we did take some targets along and so wasted some shells having a shooting competition.” 

“Well who won?” She asked.

“Are you trying to find something else you can try to beat him at Kate?” Mac asked with his eyebrow raised at her. He knew Kate was actually a pretty good shot and that she usually did better than he did. He kept walking without giving her an answer.

“Hey! You owe me buddy, remember?” 

“You’re impossible!” He replied as she poked him in the side. “Fine, I was a better shot than he was.” 

She smiled contently and Mac didn’t even want to know what she might be plotting in that mischievous little brain of hers.

They entered the house and headed into the kitchen. Mac grabbed two beers out of the fridge and opened one for Kate. Ellie was starting to pull bowls and plates out for dinner. Kate looked over and saw a coconut cream pie on the counter. 

“You made me a pie?” Kate asked with a big smile on her face. “And my favorite too!”

“I wish I could take credit for it, but actually Aidan did all the work,” Ellie replied. “Luckily I had the makings for that flavor, as he seemed pretty insistent that it had to be coconut cream.”

Kate smiled and took a drink of her beer. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and a minute later Bella was running up to hug her with Aidan a few feet behind her.

“Come on Kitty Cat, come see my new doll house,” Bella said pulling on her hand. 

Aidan smiled at her as she walked by. She met his eyes for a moment, and smiled herself, before Bella yanked her closer to the stairs.

When they came back down a short while later, Mac and Aidan were settled on the couch watching TV and Ellie was in the kitchen drinking a glass of wine looking through a cookbook on the counter. She loved finding new recipes to try. Bella ran in to the living room with the guys while Kate stayed in the kitchen with Ellie. Kate leaned next to Ellie looking at the recipes with her. Kate hated to cook, but loved to help Ellie pick things out to cook. They were so caught up in looking, they didn’t hear Aidan come in behind them and peek over their shoulders. Kate leaned up suddenly, and bumped into him. She let out a small scream as she had no idea he was there.

“You really need to wear a bell,” she said as she shook her head at him. “I’m starting to wonder if ninja is on your list of qualifications in addition to pro dart hustler.”

“Well I think I can definitely add startling beautiful women to my list,” he said with a chuckle and a little wink. 

Ellie laughed at them both and then sent them in to get Mac and Bella so they could eat. As they sat around the table eating, Bella entertained them with a play by play recap of Brave. Frequently adding in how Auntie Kate, was just like Merida. Aidan seemed to enjoy her version of the movie and her comparisons to Kate. After they were done with the chili and cornbread, Ellie brought out the pie and cut everyone a slice. Kate had to admit it was almost as good as Molly’s.

“Very tasty,” she said to Aidan. “I guess you weren’t lying about being a good cook.”

He smiled and thanked her for the compliment.

After dinner Mac said he’d go and get Bella ready for bed, while Ellie did the dishes. Kate and Aidan tried to help Ellie, but she insisted they just go watch TV or something. Kate eyed the dart board as they walked into the other room. 

“Care for a rematch?” She asked a little mischievously. 

He hesitated for a second, then asked if he had to use his left hand again.

“No, I’ll let you use your right hand. I’ve been practicing, and want to see if I can beat you now. But I don’t want you to let me win just to be a gentlemen or something, got it?” 

“Alright,” he answered with a grin on his face.

She thought for a moment and said, “maybe we should play for something you really want, just to be sure.”

His grin grew wider and he said, “how about you agree to go on a date with me if I win?”

She shook her head and smiled a bit reluctantly back at him, “Sean did tell you that part of the story too I see.”

He nodded in reply, “But what do you get if you win? He didn’t know the other half of their bet.”

Kate smiled and momentarily reached up by her neck, and then clenched her fist and dropped her hand. “My mom’s part of the bet was that he had to buy her a locket she saw in the store next door. Even though he won, he still bought her the locket and gave it to her on their date.” She added with a little sigh, “He was always a softy when it came to her, even from the first day they met.” 

“So, what would you like if you win?” he asked, hoping that it wasn’t going to be for him to leave her alone again, wishing now he’d never suggested that in the first place. “Jewelry?”

“Hmmm,” she pondered out loud, “I could use a new charm bracelet. My last one got lost out riding one day and I haven’t been able to find it.”

He smiled back, “that sounds like a reasonable bet. I accept.”

She went over to a backpack that she’d brought in from the stable with her and pulled out a small box. He recognized it immediately as being a dart box.

“You brought your own this time?” He asked a bit surprised.

“I don’t intend to lose, and wanted my special darts.” She smiled back at him.

He shook his head a little as he went and retrieved some darts from the board. They agreed to play 301 this time, and Kate grabbed a piece of paper to keep score. They finished the first round with her slightly in the lead. He’d gone to retrieve the darts and was about to hand hers back, and then stopped holding on to them for a moment. 

“I was wondering about you and Danny,” he asked looking intently at her. “You two seemed awfully close.”

She felt her face blush a little, and reached out to grab her darts. “We’re good friends,” was all she was willing to say. He narrowed his eyes at her and moved the darts just out of her reach. His grin growing a bit more devilish. “Just good friends, or really good friends,” saying the second one with his eye brows raised up and a bit of a stronger emphasis on the words. 

She wondered now if he was a bit jealous at the restaurant as she hadn’t really noticed then since she was trying to avoid him most of the time. “Well now, I don’t think that’s really any of your business is it?” She said a little playfully, holding her hands out for her darts instead of trying to take them back.

He studied her for a moment, then smiled and handed her the darts back. 

She was doing much better with her own darts, but he was still staying pretty close to her. Ellie had finished up and came in to watch them play, sitting in one of the chairs by the fireplace. She was surprised when she heard them start the game from the other room, but also knew that Kate was very competitive and hated to lose. She was a little surprised to see Kate had packed her dart set and wondered why they were even in her bag. Knowing her, she was probably planning on carrying them around until she got a chance to try to beat him again. 

Mac came back and sat on the couch. Ellie moved over and joined him but kept glancing over at Kate and Aidan. She could tell by the look on Kate’s face that she must have been holding onto the lead. It was nice seeing Kate actually look like she was having fun. She did think they would make a perfect pair from everything Kate had told her about their first meeting, and then when she actually spent time with him as well earlier in the day. If only Kate would get over her hang-up about actors, she thought as she watched them play.

“Well played,” Aidan said as Kate won the match. “Any chance you’ll be as kind as your dad and let the loser get their reward too?”

She smiled and replied, “Not a chance.” 

“You can’t blame me for trying,” He said with a small grin on his face.

“Well I will let you escort me to the jewelry store at least so you can pay for my new bracelet.”

“I guess that will have to do,” He replied. “I’ll have to figure out a day we can do it when I get a break from shooting though. Maybe you should give me your number so I can text you if I get a break to see if you’re free then.”

She shot him a suspicious look then sighed and agreed that would probably be the easiest, even though she thought it was a bit of a sneaky way for him to get her number.

“You’re the one who picked your prize,” he replied, flashing a big smile at her.

She put her darts back in their box and returned it to her bag. She thanked Ellie for a delicious dinner, but thought she’d better head home.

Aidan said he also needed to go since he had to drive all the way back to Vancouver, and had a fairly early call time the next day. Kate rolled her eyes a bit, but didn’t protest as he opened the door for her and followed her out. Her car was still parked over by the barn, and she started walking that direction.

“Let me at least give you a ride over to your car,” he suggested.

She agreed and he walked over and opened the passenger side door for her. He smiled at her as he climbed in the opposite side.

“You played really well tonight,” he said as he started the Jeep. “It was definitely a well deserved win.”

“Thanks, and you really did bake a very delicious pie. That was a really nice surprise.”

“I’m full of surprises,” he said with a mischievous wink as he backed the Jeep up and turned to drive to the barn.

When he stopped at her car, she smiled and thanked him for the lift as she opened her door.  
“Drive safely Kate, and as always it was really great to see you again.” He said as she climbed out.

She gave him a little smile and closed the door. While he didn’t insist on getting out to open her car door this time, he did stay parked until she was ready to go and then followed her out. It was a strange feeling driving back to town knowing the headlights behind her was him. As she drove, she started wondering what he was back there thinking. They finally reached the intersection that took her back into town and him back to Vancouver. She doubted it would be long before he called with the excuse she had just given him to see her again. 

Kate wasn’t terribly surprised to get a text from Aidan mid-morning the next day. He wanted to let her know that he forgot that he was going to be stuck in Vancouver for a few days doing studio shoots, and probably couldn’t make it back to town until at least Thursday or maybe Friday. He’d have to see how things were going. He wasn’t scheduled to work at all on Friday, so he was pretty sure he’d at least be able to make it then.

The week was going by a bit slowly, as it seemed less busy in town with their production not filming there, as well as another that had gone back to Vancouver to film in the studio as well. On Wednesday, Kate met Ellie and Bella for lunch at a deli they enjoyed eating at. Kate had already told Ellie on Monday about the bet and that Aidan was going to take her to buy a new bracelet to replace the one she’d lost. Ellie asked if she’d heard from him yet, and Kate let her know he was tied up in Vancouver.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re a little disappointed you have to wait so long to see him again,” Ellie commented. 

Kate laughed and tried to convince her otherwise. Ellie didn’t seem to be buying it, but knew Kate too well and dropped it, changing the conversation to complaining about her sister’s wedding planning instead. As they were eating, Kate’s phone chimed and she looked down to make sure it wasn’t a problem at the bar. Ellie caught a little smile cross her face as she read it and asked if it was from Aidan. Kate nodded and took another bite of her sandwich, hoping Ellie hadn’t noticed the smile.

“So when is he coming back to town?” Ellie asked.

“He thinks he should be able to make it tomorrow afternoon if the shoot stays on schedule. The message said he only has a small scene to film in the morning, and then he should be free the rest of the day and would drive back out here.”

Ellie laughed, “Perfect timing for another boys night out.”

Kate took a deep breath and exhaled. “That went so well last time.” She said laughing a little.

The next morning while Kate was getting tables ready for lunch, she heard her phone chime and walked over to where she’d left it on the bar to see if it was Aidan. She was a little surprised to see it was a text from Danny. “Hey gorgeous – would it be ok if Aidan & I played guitars after dinner tonight at the bar? Pretty pretty please? Let me know if more if more cajolery is needed ;)” She had to laugh at “cajolery”, writing back: “New word of the day calendar? I guess that’s ok”. “You’re the BEST!” he sent back.

As customers started coming in for lunch it seemed like it was going to be another slow day. Shelly mostly handled all the tables on her own, while Kate hung out at the bar with Sean. He’d been flipping through TV channels trying to find something interesting to watch. Her phone went off again and this time it was Aidan saying he was just wrapping up and would be there in about an hour. She realized she’d forgotten to tell Sean what was going on and that she was going to be gone for a bit once he arrived. She told him about their bet and how Aidan had lost and was coming to buy her a new bracelet. He raised his eyebrows giving her a questioning look. 

“What?” She asked innocently. “It’s not my fault you told him that story, I just took advantage of it, that’s all.” 

He shook his head at her and went back to watching a sports broadcast he had finally stopped on.

About an hour later Aidan arrived. Kate was in the back when he got there and he took a seat at the bar. Sean gave him a warm welcome and asked if he wanted a beer. As he was handing the glass to Aidan, Kate returned from the back. 

“There’s my favorite dart hustler,” He said with a wink as she walked up. 

She raised her brow at him. “Like you should talk,” she shot back.

“That’s fair,” he replied and laughed. “Would it be possible for me to grab a bite to eat before we go? Or are you in a rush? I’m so hungry, I’d even be happy to eat another one of those grilled cheese sandwiches.”

She smiled at him and said she’d let him pick his order today. She asked Sean if he wanted something too, since they hadn’t eaten yet either. She left them and headed to the kitchen. Sean was sitting on a stool behind the bar, and the two of them chatted a bit while they also watched the TV. 

Shelly came over to get some refills and smiled at Aidan. “Nice to see you again,” she said with a little wink. 

A few minutes later Kate returned with lunch for all 3 of them and sat on a bar stool next to Aidan. Sean was in the middle of telling Aidan some story about when he was a young boy in Ireland. It was quite a lively story and they were both laughing as he went on. She actually hadn’t seen Sean quite this happy at the bar since her dad had passed away. He was always pleasant with the customers, and there were some that she’d say he was good friends with even, but none that he seemed to connect with like he was with Aidan. He was always happy when he was with Sarah too, but it just wasn’t the same sort of bond that he’d had with her dad. She sat quietly and listened to the two of them sharing stories while she ate her sandwich. It saddened her some to think of how much her dad would have probably liked him too. Aidan was mostly focused on Sean, but she caught him looking at her out of the corner of his eye a few times.

When they were done eating, she took the plates back to the kitchen and grabbed her jacket to head out with Aidan. When she returned there was a small box sitting next to him on the bar in front of where she had been sitting. She walked over and sat down and asked what the box was for, giving him a questioning glance.

“I owe you an apology,” he said a little sheepishly. “With all the chaos of starting my new job, I’d completely forgotten about this until I was driving home the other night. Open it.”

Kate opened the box and was completely shocked to see the charm bracelet she thought she’d lost inside. “How.. where did you.. how did you find my bracelet?”

“When Captain ran off and I was walking back down the trail, something shiny caught my eye. I picked it up and put it in my camera bag, intending to give it to Mac when I got back. I don’t know,” he hesitated for a moment, “I guess I got distracted or something the rest of that afternoon, and when we got back to the barn, I’d completely forgotten about it.” He paused for a moment and watched her running all the charms through her fingers.

“It wasn’t until I was driving home that I remembered finding a bracelet on the trail and found it again in my camera bag. I was thinking it was likely yours after you told me that you lost one out riding.” 

“I still owe you a real prize,” He continued. “But I thought you might like your bracelet back too.”

He could see that her initial shock at seeing it again had been replaced with gratitude. “Thank you,” she said as she smiled at him.

"So, what would the lady desire now that her bracelet has been recovered?" He asked.

"There's always room for a new charm. I'm so happy I won't have to replace all the ones I had already collected." She replied.

"Do they all have a special meaning?" He asked looking down at it in her hands. 

She normally didn't share their meaning when other people asked, but she was so grateful to have it back that she made an exception for him. She laid it out on the bar and pointed to each one as she explained why she had them. There was a paint brush, for her love of art of course. One was a clover for her Irish heritage. There was a horse shoe and a horse. The next one was a sail boat. She paused for a moment and then said she use to go out sailing and loved being out on the water.

“Did your family have a sail boat,” he asked looking up at her again.

“No,” she hesitated for a second, “actually Danny’s parents did. They use to take me out sailing sometimes.”

He gave her a knowing grin, “I figured he was likely the old boyfriend that had tried to teach you to play guitar. Being serenaded on a sailboat sounds quite magical.”

“Actually he gets really seasick, so he was usually puking over the side whenever he would go out with us. Not very magical at all,” she said with a laugh. 

Aidan laughed as well and then they looked down at the bracelet again.

The next one was a very fancy heart with her initial. Mac and Ellie had bought that for her on her 25th birthday. Then there was a cat that Bella had recently picked out for her, for being her Kitty Cat of course.

“What kind of flower is the next one?” he asked. 

“It’s a Lily,” she said rubbing it gently with her finger tip. 

“Well it’s very pretty.”

“Thank you,” she replied sounding a bit more nostalgic at this one than the others. “It was really hard to find just the right one.” She paused for a few seconds then added, “My mom’s name was Lily.”

“That’s a beautiful name,” He softly replied.

She smiled and picked up the bracelet to put it on her wrist. He offered to help and she handed it to him so he could put it on for her. She stood up from her stool and asked if he was ready to go. They said good bye to Sean and headed out the door.

There was a small boutique a couple blocks away that Kate loved to go and shop at that normally had lots of different types of charms, so she suggested they start there. Many of their charms were themed around the various shows that did regular productions in town as those were generally quite popular with the tourists. Kate smiled at the girl at the counter as they walked in. She headed to where there was a case with lots of different charms to look at. She really wasn’t sure what charm she wanted, but was hoping something would grab her attention.

“Do you have an affinity for Butterflies?” Aidan asked trying to be helpful. She laughed and shook her head. “Dragonflies?” he asked next. He pointed out a ships mast, which could go along with her love of sailing. She agreed that one might be an option but wanted to keep looking. She said that felt a bit to “pirate-y” for her taste. He chuckled a bit realizing he had never told her the role he was actually working on. “You could get a crown since you’re as beautiful as a princess.” He suggested pointing at one he had just spotted. She rolled her eyes at him and laughed. 

“What? I watched Brave remember, and you’re a perfect replica of what Princess Merida would look like all grown up. Plus I am working on that “fairy tale show”, so I’m getting quite familiar with what makes a proper princess.” 

She smiled and shook her head and kept looking. Since he was taller he could see the charms at the top of the display a bit better. He laughed when one caught his attention.

“What are you laughing at,” she asked giving him a quizzical look.

He reached up and took it down to show her. It was a dart and a dartboard. The center of the dartboard had a small diamond as the bullseye.

Her eyes lit up, “Well that seems quite fitting, doesn’t it.” 

He offered to buy the ships mast too, but she passed on his offer, mentioning again that she really wasn’t that much into the pirate theme. He paid the clerk and they left to head back to the bar. 

“I just realized I never heard what your character is on the show. Are you a prince or something?” She asked as the door closed behind them.

He laughed and then replied, “Actually I’m a pirate. Captain Hook actually.” She shot him a look of disbelief and laughed at his response, but he insisted that he was serious. She apologized for the pirate comment in the shop, but had to admit she still wasn’t a huge fan of pirate stuff. 

As they walked he asked her if she really didn’t know the name of the show. She explained that she never actually watched much TV other than when it was on at the bar, so she never really paid attention to the names of the shows that came through town filming. She said she’d rather just read a book or look through her art books when she had free time. He couldn’t help but think that her dislike for TV shows was something more than that, but he didn’t push her on it. 

When they got back, only Sean was in the bar as Shelly had run home to do a few things before she returned for the dinner shift. Aidan helped her connect the new charm to her bracelet. Sean poured him another Guinness and they started watching TV again while Kate went about setting up the tables for dinner. She heard them quickly start another conversation and in no time they were both laughing again. Kate couldn’t help but smile to herself across the restaurant listening to the two of them having such a good time together.

Mac arrived a little earlier than normal, and sat at the bar with them listening and laughing at their stories while they waited for Danny. Shelly had returned and was keeping busy with the few tables of customers that had started coming in. Since it looked to be another slow night, Sean decided he’d take off early if it was alright with Kate to spend the evening at home with Sarah. He said good night to Mac and Aidan and disappeared into the back. 

Danny arrived a little after 6:00 with his guitar case in his hand. He smiled at Kate as he walked in, but didn’t give her his usual hug or greeting. She followed a few steps behind them as they moved from the bar to the table in the back. 

Danny looked around at the mostly empty bar. “Did you send out a bulletin that we were going to play and scared all your customers away?” She laughed at him as they kept walking to the table.

“Well you certainly can’t use the excuse you’re too busy to not hang out with us tonight.” He teased her as they reached the table. 

She took their dinner orders, well Aidan’s at least, since she already knew what Mac and Danny were having. Mac and Aidan had carried their beers over from the bar, and Danny followed her back to the bar to get a beer too so she wouldn’t have to bring one over for him. Kate stopped at the bar to fill his glass. He stood their silently and watched her pour it. 

“No cajolery for me this evening?” she teased with a questioning look. 

“I told you I like this one, Kate. And I’m not going to be an excuse for it not working out.” He replied with a fairly serious tone. 

She shook her head at him and reached down under the counter to grab a bottle of steak sauce for his fries. She started her reply before she stood back up, “There’s nothing to work out Danny. I will never get involved with an actor again. It doesn’t matter how nice he is, or how much every one else likes him. I won’t do that again.” As she stood up, she saw Aidan standing about a foot behind Danny holding his now empty glass.

He cleared his throat and held up his glass asking if he could get a refill while she was there. She felt horrible and wondered how much he’d heard of that. She handed Danny his steak sauce and his beer and reached out for Aidan’s glass. Danny silently mouthed “sorry” at Kate while his back was still toward Aidan, before he turned and walked back to the table. 

“Sorry if you overheard that,” she said as she was filling his glass. “That probably sounded a bit harsh.” She chewed on the inside of her lip for a few seconds, “I just get really irritated when other people try to tell me what I should do.” 

“No worries,” He said forcing a smile on his face. “You’ve made it pretty clear how you feel about actors since you found out I was one.” He leaned against the bar and took the glass from her. “Any chance you’ll tell me why the animosity toward my particular profession?”

“No, there’s no chance of that,” She said abruptly.

She was expecting him to retreat back to the table, but instead he stayed there and took a drink from his beer studying her. “You are quite a feisty lass aren’t you. It may surprise you, but I also have a bit of a stubborn streak as well.” He smiled and winked at her then walked back to the table. 

She was certainly caught off guard by that, and wondered what she’d gotten herself into as she took their order to the kitchen. Now she felt a bit awkward about going out and sitting with them after that fiasco. She was stalling in the kitchen when Shelly came back to check on her order. 

“What are you doing hiding back here?” Shelly asked. 

“I’m not hiding,” Kate replied, “just… avoiding.” 

Shelly laughed and asked what sort of trouble she’d gotten herself into this time. Kate didn’t feel like elaborating and told her she’d fill her in later. Shelly grabbed the order from the counter and headed back out to her customers. 

Kate figured she’d better at least wander back out to the bar in case anyone needed another drink. She was relieved that Mac had stood up and was on his way over with his empty glass.

“So,” she asked cautiously, “how’s it going over there?”

Mr. “Oblivous” didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. She sighed and told him he was no help at all. He did say that they were over there talking about different types of guitars, which he was also clueless about. She decided that seemed like a good sign that at least what had happened wasn’t causing any tension between Aidan and Danny. He said he’d take another beer since it was still early as he handed her the glass. She poured it for him and then debated what to do next. She glanced over at Aidan and Danny and they did seem quite engaged in their discussion, hopefully really about guitars. 

“You wouldn’t want to just stay over here for a little while until the food is ready, would you?” Kate asked.

Mac shot her a completely confused look. She told him it was a bit of a complicated story and that she didn’t want to have to break it down into small pieces that he could understand. He shot her an annoyed glare and said that maybe he’d just head back to the table then. Kate remembered that Sean kept a checkers set under the bar that he would play with some of his friends and that Mac loved to play checkers too. She asked if he’d play one game with her while the other two talked about guitars and they waited on their food. She knew Mac wouldn’t refuse checkers over guitars.

She glanced up a few times as they played and saw that they were still quite engaged in their conversation, although tonight it was Mac who had the chair with his back to the bar, so every once in a while Aidan would catch her looking over. He didn’t change his expression at all, but she was sure he had noticed her glancing over at them.

Half way through their Checkers game, Danny came back over to the bar with their empty glasses. “Sorry about that, Kate” he said sincerely as he handed her the glasses. She shot him a somewhat annoyed look and handed the full glasses back to him. When they finished their game, she went to the back to check on their food and Mac went back to the table. Their meals were almost ready so she sat on a stool in the back and waited. They had several different cooks that worked in the kitchen and the one tonight was not one of the friendlier ones, so she sat there waiting silently. 

Once the food was ready, she put the plates on a tray and headed back out. She about froze in her tracks when she got close enough to see what was on the table. There were shot glasses in front of Danny and Aidan, and a bottle of whiskey between them. 

Shelly was walking back to the bar with an empty tray in her hand. “Their idea” was all she said as she walked by Kate. 

She took a deep breath and headed over to the table. It appeared that they were refilling at least their second set of shots, as she set the food down.

Danny smiled at her, “Care for a shot, beautiful? Shelly said if we wanted the bottle at the table we had to pay for the rest of it, so we might as well have some fun. We thought it would help get our creative musical juices flowing.” 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” She replied reaching for the bottle. She tried to keep her voice pleasant and not come across as being upset with them. “I’ll take care of the bill and I’ll just let you have those couple of shots on the house.” 

Aidan reached up and put his hand on top of hers holding the bottle in place, “While that’s a very generous offer, I insist that we keep the bottle. You don’t want to ruin our fun do you?”

Kate’s expression grew a bit more serious and she didn’t remove her hand but leaned closer to Aidan, “I think you’ve had plenty to get your creative juices flowing,” she said as her eyes narrowed on him a bit.

“Sorry lass, but I’d have to disagree with you on that. We’ve only just started getting our juices flowing.” He kept his eyes locked with hers and didn’t seem willing to negotiate on it at all. 

“As the person in charge of this establishment I have the legal obligation to not let any of my customers get wasted and drive home.” She said, her tone becoming less pleasant as she spoke.

“No problem,” Danny chimed in, “We’ll both just crash in your apartment if you don’t deem us fit enough to leave at the end of the evening.”

Kate shot a glare at Danny. She knew Danny could easily walk back to his own apartment if he was too drunk to drive, as he typically walked over to the bar anyway. “Did you even drive here tonight?” She asked him her grip still holding firmly on to the bottle.

“Touché,” he replied with a laugh. “I guess we’ll just stumble a couple blocks to my apartment instead then. Sorry love, old habits die hard.”

She was starting to wonder how many shots they’d already had before she walked over, given Danny’s change in behavior from earlier. His reply certainly didn’t make her any happier. She started to loosen her grip on the bottle, but Aidan’s hand didn’t let go of hers. She pulled her hand away to get it free. 

“You’d better stay sober enough to make it a couple blocks,” she said as she turned and headed back to the bar. She heard their shot glasses clink as she was walking away. 

She started flipping through channels on the TV, doing her best to ignore them. Shelly wandered over and sat on one of the stools as she was waiting for her last few customers to finish up. “You OK?” she asked even though she could tell Kate was obviously mad. 

Kate let out an angry sigh. “Fantastic” she replied.

A few minutes later Aidan walked over to the bar. She was happy to see he didn’t seem to be staggering too much yet. “I need to get my guitar from my Jeep, but I didn’t want you to think I was sneaking out to go on a law breaking binge.” He shot her a smile trying to lighten her mood. “Perhaps you should escort me to ensure I keep to my word?”

She took a deep breath and clenched her jaws. “Ah, glad to see we’re back to the jaw clenching stage” he said then he leaned a bit closer, “it’s not your most flattering look, but you have a way of making it work.” 

She wasn’t sure what he was trying to do. Was he trying to piss her off for the earlier comment she made, or did he actually think he was being cute or something. She exhaled and tried to make her jaws relax. She certainly didn’t want to play his little game, although she still wasn’t sure what it was. 

“I trust that you’ll come back in and not drive off,” She said in the calmest tone she could manage. 

“Well that’s too bad, I was really looking forward to having an escort.” He said as he headed toward the door. A few minutes later he was back in with his guitar.

“Are you going to join us with some of your legendary singing tonight?” He teased as he walked back by her. She shot him a cold glare. “Come on Kate, I’m just having a little fun. You really should try it sometime. You might surprise yourself and actually enjoy it.”

She returned to the stool behind the bar as he headed back to the corner. A few minutes later she could hear them playing various chords and talking occasionally. She heard the music stop for a few minutes, and then Mac was headed over to the bar. She knew he wasn’t involved with the whiskey shots, and definitely not the instigator of the group. He gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry Kate, I have no idea how tonight ended up like this.” 

She sighed and realized it was probably her own fault due to what she’d said to Danny that Aidan had overheard. She told him it wasn’t his fault and not to worry about it. He seemed relieved that finally something wasn’t his fault. He said they were going Dutch tonight and paid for his drinks and dinner. Apparently they had decided “darts for drinks” probably wasn’t a good idea tonight. He gave her another apologetic look as he headed toward the door and said good night. 

Shelly’s customers left right after Mac and the four of them were the only ones left in the bar. Shelly sat at the bar again and asked her if she should stay, or go. She smiled at Kate, “There are two of them and two of us. I don’t mind taking Danny if you’d rather have your handsome Irishman.” 

“Shelly, you really are horrible!” Kate replied.

“Come on Kate, you only live once.” She responded with a little wink. She knew Kate wouldn’t go along with her idea, but she just couldn’t help suggesting it. “Seriously though, do you want me to stay to help you out if they get too drunk?” 

Kate told her she’d be fine. She figured if they got too bad, she’d just lock them in the bar and go up to bed. It wouldn’t be the first time one of her friends had gotten too drunk to leave and crashed in the bar over night. Though she always made sure to get them out before the kitchen help and Sean arrived. 

After Shelly left, she decided it best to turn off the open sign and lock the front door. Then she wouldn’t have to deal with them bothering real customers, although she really doubted at this point they would have anyone else wander in. That was one nice thing about it being a small town and a family run business, if you decided you wanted to close early, no one ever complained. She could still hear them playing as she walked over and turned off the sign and locked the door. She realized she hadn’t had anything to eat since the sandwich at lunch time, so headed to the kitchen to see what she could find to eat. She was looking in the large fridge and closed the door, to find Aidan standing right on the other side of it. She jumped and gasped.

“Damn it Aidan!” She yelled. “Seriously, you need a bloody bell!”

He laughed at her out burst, and then apologized. “I really didn’t come in here to scare you to death, lass” he said.

She was trying to gauge his level of drunkenness as he spoke.

“You were just back here for quite a while, and I wanted to make sure you were OK.” He said with a slightly concerned look on his face.

“I’m fine,” she replied. Thinking to herself that while he was likely a little too drunk to drive, at least he was still sober enough to walk to Danny’s apartment.

“Will you come back out and join us if we promise to behave?” He asked with a bit of a pleading look on his face. “We’ll put the whiskey away if that will make you happy.”

She wondered how much of the bottle was even left to put back at this point. She told him she was looking for something to eat and then she’d come back out and check on them. He smiled and insisted on helping her make something to eat. She tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

He found some eggs in the fridge and asked if she liked omelets. She told him that she did and so he started looking for other ingredients to add, asking her which she liked as he discovered them in the fridge. Once he’d collected all the vegetables she had agreed to include, he started chopping them up and found a pan to cook it in. She sat on the stool and watched. She was thinking to her self how infuriating he was. Only an hour before they were practically fighting over the bottle of whiskey and now he was happily preparing an amazing omelet for her. 

She made sure he didn’t see her smile at all though. She was still not completely over his attitude earlier and didn’t want him to think that she was. She also started to wonder what had happened to Danny at this point. She didn’t hear his guitar and wondered if she should be concerned. She thought she’d better see if either Aidan knew what he was up to, or if she should go and check on him. Aidan said that he was practicing darts when he left him, so he was sure he was fine. She said she’d go and check on him just to make sure he was OK and left Aidan in the kitchen.

When she got out there, Danny had already put the darts away and was sitting alone at their table. Shelly had picked up their dinner plates and the only things left were the shot glasses and the whiskey bottle. A wicked grin flashed across his face as she walked over and took a seat in one of the chairs near him. 

“Shall I get you a glass too?” He asked, with his smile remaining quite devilish. He leaned toward her and whispered, “I’m sure the three of us could have an amazing time.” Winking at her as he said it. 

“You’re in so much trouble mister,” she said giving him a very cold glare. 

“So I take it that’s a no on the threesome idea, eh?” He chuckled, “That’s too bad, because I’m sure that would have been a lot of fun.”

She took a deep breath and kept glaring at him.

“Where is your handsome Irish lad anyway?” He asked looking back toward the kitchen door. “I hope you didn’t off him in the kitchen and stuff his body in the walk in freezer.”

“You’re still on my shit list for this Danny,” she replied but was starting to soften a little. He reached over and gently grabbed behind her head with his hand and pulled her toward him and kissed her on the forehead. 

“You’re more fun when you do the shots too you know,” he said as she sat back up. 

Aidan had returned from the kitchen with her food and sat it on the table as she was sitting back up. She was sure he’d seen Danny kiss her on the head, but he didn’t seem to care. He sat down in the chair closest to her smiling and said that he hoped she liked it. 

She sighed and looked from one to the other of them. This was not the way she had expected this evening to go. She took a bite of the omelet as Aidan watched intently to see if she liked it. She told him it was very good, which caused his smile to get a bit larger. After her second bite, she finally decided she could really use one shot to wash it down and hopefully make her a little less on edge. Danny happily volunteered to retrieve a clean glass from the bar for her. She heard him bumping into several chairs on his way to the bar. He definitely had taken more shots than Aidan, or Aidan wasn’t as impacted by them, but she guessed it was likely the first knowing Danny. He returned bumping into a few more chairs on his way with the glass.

She shook her head at him as he sat it on the table and collapsed back into his chair. Aidan was wise enough to grab the bottle and pour the drink for her, considering Danny was likely to just spill it all over the table. She winced a little as she swallowed it down. Whiskey had never been her favorite, but she was pretty much willing to drink whatever was handy. She ate a few more bites of the omelet and Aidan asked if she’d like one more shot. Danny of course wanted another shot, but they decided he’d had plenty and weren’t going to give him any more. She agreed to just one more and Aidan decided he would have one last one as well. He raised his glass toward her and she clinked hers against it before swallowing it down. The second one seemed to burn even more than the first and made her eyes water a little. She finished her omelet and looked at Danny.

“It’s going to be a pain to drag his sorry ass all the way to his apartment, especially if you don’t know where he actually lives.”

“I know where I live,” Danny said with his voice slurring a fair amount.

She shook her head and knew she was going to regret it, but said they could crash at her apartment so he wouldn’t have to drag him all the way home. But she made it clear that someone would have to sleep on the floor, since there was only one couch and she was not going to let either of them share her bed. She picked up her plate and the glasses while Aidan helped Danny up out of his chair to follow her back to the kitchen. Aidan asked about the guitars, and she said they’d be fine there overnight and they could grab them in the morning. Danny grabbed the bottle of Whiskey and insisted they take it upstairs with them. Luckily there wasn’t much left in it anyway at that point. 

She told Aidan to wait in the kitchen and she’d meet them there in a minute. She turned the main lights off and headed back to the kitchen. Aidan helped Danny out the door, while she locked up behind them. Danny leaned heavily on Aidan as they climbed the stairs, but at least he was still mostly mobile. Aidan deposited Danny on the couch once they were inside. Danny protested that he didn’t want the couch, that he wanted Kate’s bed. 

“No way in hell Danny,” was the only reply he got from her and even in his drunken stupor, he knew there wasn’t going to be any way to change her mind. He still knew that tone all too well, even if he did have too many drinks tonight. He stretched out on the couch and covered his eyes with his arm. 

Aidan had already taken the bottle away from Danny, and was now setting it on her kitchen counter. She glanced over at it as he set it down. “There’s only a few shots left in it, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste,” he said when he saw her look at the bottle. 

She sighed and agreed to finish it off with him. As she retrieved a couple glasses from a cabinet, Aidan leaned against the counter. “I am curious why you and Danny aren’t more than just friends. He seems to care an awful lot about you.” 

She was a little surprised he asked about Danny again, but guessed the alcohol was still having some impact on his inhibitions, and perhaps hers as well, as she actually decided to give him an honest answer. “Danny’s very good at caring about people, just not so good at the commitment part of relationships.” She glanced over at Danny before looking back at Aidan and continuing. “I’ve known him a long time and I’m not sure he’s ever going to change that. We’re much better at being friends than anything else.” 

There was only enough whiskey left for 2 more shots, and they clanked their glasses together and drank them down. God did she hate whiskey, but it was definitely making her feel a bit better considering her mood earlier. She looked around the room trying to figure out what to do with Aidan. 

Aidan noticed her looking around. “If you have an extra pillow, any place is fine really.”

She sighed and walked to her bedroom. She came back out with a blanket that she threw over Danny on the couch. 

“I really hate to make you sleep on the floor.” She said with a sigh. “Even though you were being a bit of a pain downstairs tonight, you still recovered my bracelet for me, and that earns you a bit of gratitude.” She said then bit her lip before she continued. “If you promise you will just lay there and go to sleep, you can sleep on my bed.”

He nodded in agreement and then followed her back to her bedroom. She pointed to the side that he could sleep on and then headed into the bathroom to change into her most conservative pajamas. Before she closed the door, Aidan said her name. She turned to see what he needed and he’d suddenly gotten much closer, causing her to take a step back as she bumped into the door frame and felt a bit trapped. 

He leaned in a bit closer studying her face, “I just wanted to say thank you for letting us stay here tonight.” She put her hand on his chest pushing him back a bit.

“No problem,” she said and slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. She exhaled as the door closed, she knew that really wasn’t the only thing he was thinking looking into those lust filled eyes. 

When she finally came back out, it looked like he had fallen asleep. She crawled into bed and turned off the light. It was the most surreal thing having him lying next to her. So close she could reach out and touch him. But thinking back to what she’d said to Danny, she had meant it, even if it sounded harsh. She wasn’t willing to go down that path again. Even if he seemed too good to be true, because in her experience, that always meant that they were.


	5. Chapter 5

Kate’s alarm went off as usual at 6:30. She reached over and turned it off. The whiskey had not been a good idea as she now had a throbbing headache. Suddenly remembering Aidan had been there, she rolled over to see if he was still asleep or if the alarm had woken him up too. She was surprised that he was gone already. She laid there for a few minutes and could hear Danny snoring from the other room. She had not missed that aspect of their Thursday night sleepovers. At least he was in the other room and not right by her ear this time. 

Thoughts from the night before started flooding through her mind. How infuriated she was with Aidan when he wouldn’t let her take the whiskey bottle away. And then there were his comments when he went out to get his guitar. She still wasn’t sure how much of it was a reaction to what she’d said to Danny, or if he was just acting normal. She realized that she hadn’t actually spent that much time with him and maybe some of his demeanor was different than she originally thought. But then he seemed to act more as she was accustomed to when he found her in the kitchen and made the omelet for her. 

She covered her face with her arm, blocking out the sunlight that was coming in through the curtains and causing her head to ache even more. Why did she even care what he thought or what type of person he was? He was still an actor and she was never going to get involved with one again. She honestly never even wanted to be friends with anyone who was involved in that profession again. She could deal with him being friends with Mac, Danny and Sean. It’s not like him being their friend would really have any impact on her. She was frustrated with herself that she would even care about it at all. She laid there for a while internally battling over possibly having feelings about him and her vow to never get involved with an actor ever again. 

She thought she heard the front door open and then she could smell coffee. She heard footsteps coming toward the bedroom, and thought to herself that serial killers generally didn’t bring their victims coffee, so didn’t think she should be concerned. She uncovered her face as the partially closed bedroom door swung open wider. 

Aidan came in with a carrier holding 3 cups of coffee and a paper bag. She instantly recognized the cups and bag were from the coffee shop where she’d bumped into him on the sidewalk. Not that there were many options in town, but there were a couple at least. She also knew that one of the others was actually closer to her apartment on the way to the other, so she was curious why he would have walked all the way to the other. 

“Good morning,” he said in an almost hushed tone and offered her one of the cups. She appreciated that his voice was low given the dull ache in her head.

“Thanks,” She said as she took it, sitting up to rest against the headboard of her bed, pulling her knees up toward her chest under the covers. She was expecting plain coffee as she took a sip and was delighted that it was her favorite hazelnut flavor. She shot him a questioning glance. “So, how did you know I liked this flavor?” she asked, taking another drink. She was starting to realize how full of surprises he really was.

He smiled a bit shyly, relieved that it was actually the right flavor. “I asked the girl at the counter if she knew what kind of coffee the ‘Kate from Callahan’s’ liked to drink. Since I ran into you there, I was hoping someone working there might know.”

She laughed a little at what he’d called her. She momentarily wondered if he actually didn’t know that her last name was Callahan, but wasn’t going to sound silly mentioning it at this point. She also couldn’t help but feel a little special that he had walked the extra distance to try to get her the kind of coffee she liked. “What’s in the bag?” she asked, hoping her conflicted feelings about him weren’t apparent.

“Well it didn’t look like you had much to choose from in your fridge, so I picked up a few croissants and bagels,” he said holding the bag out toward her. “Or if you’d rather, we could go down to the bar and I’ll make you another omelet or find something else to make.”  
She said a croissant would be fine and took one from the bag, handing it back to him after making her selection. He set the bag on her dresser and took one of the cups of coffee himself. He stood there silently a few feet from the bed watching her while he took a long drink out of his cup.

She took a bite out of the nice warm flaky croissant and then followed that with another sip of her coffee. The coffee tasted so good and was helping with the headache she’d awoken too. She felt a bit awkward still sitting in bed drinking her coffee and eating a croissant while he stood there watching her though.

“You can sit if you’d like,” she said to him before taking another drink, not sure if that would be much better, but at least he wouldn’t be towering over her as he currently was. He sat on the edge near her feet turning so he could still watch her. 

She mentioned that she was surprised that he was awake so early after last night. He explained how he had to frequently get up very early for filming and that now he found himself doing that even on the days he had off. He apologized that he forgot to pay for his dinner and drinks the night before. She laughed and said she had planned to hold their guitars for collateral until they paid off their debt. He also laughed at that and took another drink of his coffee, licking his lips as he swallowed.

She asked if he was going to head back to Vancouver after he bailed out his guitar. 

“Since I have the day off, I was thinking I might spend some time walking around town. When I was here working I didn’t really get a chance to explore it at all and it seems like it has a quaint charm to it. I wondered what other interesting spots there were around town. I thought I could get some photos while it’s quieter too, since there were so many tourists before. Oh, and Danny mentioned going fishing later this afternoon since he has the day off too.”

“Well you already know where the two most important spots are: the Pub and the Coffee Shop.”  
She replied with a smile, tipping her cup out to him.

“Aye, that they are.” He said smiling back at her. His sparkling blue eyes, seemed to get a bit more intense as a silence fell between them.

She heard Danny grumbling from the couch and a moment later he was headed in through her bedroom to use the bathroom. “No puking on the floor!” She called out as he stumbled by. “You should save that for chumming at the docks later.” He chuckled softly then moaned and closed the door. 

He returned a few minutes later and plopped down on the empty space next to Kate on the bed and buried his face in the pillows. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “So much better than the couch,” he mumbled into the pillow. 

She was actually relieved Danny was there, as the way Aidan had started to look at her, made her concerned about her resolve in regards to him. There was something about those eyes, and his smile, well to be honest his entire gorgeous face, that made it so hard for her to not want to reach out and just grab him and pin him to the bed. Aidan was still keeping his gaze very firmly focused on her and after every sip of his coffee, he’d run his tongue across his lips. She quickly finished her croissant and tried desperately to chase the thoughts away that were running through her mind. 

“Can I trust you two to stay out of trouble while I take a shower and get ready to go down to open the bar? Sean hasn’t approved my request for a PJ day yet.” She added with a little laugh. 

She thought she heard Danny mumble something that sounded like he agreed, but she couldn’t really be sure since his head was buried in the pillow. Aidan nodded and she quickly grabbed some clothes from her dresser and headed in to the bathroom locking the door behind her. 

It seemed to take her longer than usual to get ready, as she found her mind kept wandering to Aidan licking his lips as he was drinking his coffee. She repeatedly had to force herself to get her mind back on what she was supposed to be doing. When she was finally done, she headed back out to see what they were up to. She saw that Danny was still stretched out in the same spot on her bed and he was snoring again. She wandered out of the bedroom to see where Aidan had gotten off to. She found him sitting on the couch looking through an art book that he had found on her bookshelf. She sat next to him and glanced at the pages too. He had found some pieces that he remembered seeing when he was in a museum in London, and he spent some time pointing them all out and describing how different they were in real life.

Her mind flashed back to their time at Molly’s and how much she had enjoyed talking with him about art. She was floating back and forth between remembering the events of that night, and listening to him talk about the pieces in the book. He didn’t seem to notice that she was only half way paying attention and kept on going. His Irish accent was making his description of the pieces even more alluring than she ever imagined.

She didn’t realize how long they’d actually been looking at the book, until she glanced over at the clock. She’d gotten so lost in listening to his voice and reminiscing back to the first day that they met that she’d completely lost track of time. 

“I do need to get down to the bar before the kitchen help comes in to prep for lunch. You’re welcome to hang out up here if you’re waiting for sleeping beauty to wake up, or you can come down to the bar and wait too. I can move the guitars into the storage closet until you’re ready to come down for them if you want to stay up here.”

He suggested he follow her down and take care of their bill and then he could put the guitars in his Jeep. He hesitated before asking if it would be possible to take a shower and change clothes in her apartment. She laughed at him a little and then said that would be fine. ‘Great’, she thought to herself as they walked down stairs to the bar, ‘now the next time I take a shower I’m going to think of him being naked in it and probably licking his lips.’

About 30 minutes after they had headed down together, he reappeared in the bar with a fresh set of clothes and his camera bag. His eyes had more of a sparkle to them than she remembered from before, and she was glad that the lustful look from last night and earlier seemed to be gone now. His hair still looked slightly damp from his shower. She hated to admit how good he looked, and her mind quickly jumped back to her earlier thought of him naked in her shower licking his lips. She may have even jumped a bit when he spoke and she realized her mind had wandered off to that.

“I wanted to make sure it was OK if I left Danny sleeping up there while I wander around town.” 

She let him know that would be fine, hoping that he hadn’t noticed the slight breathlessness in her answer. He gave her a smile and left saying he’d be back later. It was still fairly early and Sean hadn’t arrived yet, which she was a little thankful for. Having Aidan show up in the bar with shower-hair probably would have looked a bit suspicious. Though she started to wonder what would happen when Danny finally woke up. Her thoughts slowly started going back to Aidan’s damp hair and his tongue, until she was disrupted by the sound of the kitchen help arriving. She decided it would be best to get the tables ready for lunch to try to keep her mind off of him.

Danny still hadn’t come down to the bar when Sean finally did arrive, so she thought she would go up and send him home before he showed up in the bar wearing clothes that would surely have that slept in look. She made up an excuse to run up to her apartment and headed back upstairs. He was still lying in bed when she walked in, but stirred when he heard her walk in the room.

“Is Aidan still here?” he mumbled, with his face turned enough from the pillow that she could at least understand him now.

She let him know Aidan had gone off to wander around town for a while. 

“I do have to say this is my least favorite morning of waking up in your bed,” he teased starting to rub his hand against his forehead. 

“Well that’s what you get for ordering whiskey shots last night.” Their prior Thursday night trysts typically involved a bit less alcohol than he’d consumed the night before. 

“Hey, that actually wasn’t my fault!” He protested. A look of pain washed across his face as the volume he’d spoken at was clearly too loud for his current state of being hung-over. He continued a bit softer, “Aidan was the one who asked Shelly for the whiskey. Of course you know me, I would never object to drinking with a fellow musician. I couldn’t very well let the poor guy drink alone after you practically ripped his heart out and crushed it on the bar.” He chuckled a bit and buried his face back into the pillow.

She had jumped to the conclusion that Danny had been the instigator and hadn’t really stopped to consider it could have been Aidan. Danny’s comment didn’t make her feel any better about Aidan overhearing what she had said, but she was still adamant that she meant it.

“So fishing?” She asked changing the subject.

“Yeah, I thought it would be a fun way to spend the afternoon. I haven’t actually done it in a while, and Aidan had mentioned it was something he liked to do back home. Hey, you should skip work and come with us.” He suggested.

Kate loved sailing, but was never actually a fan of fishing. One of several things that Danny and her were opposites about. But it did give her an idea.

“Actually, since you owe me at least one favor, would you ask Sean to go with you guys? I don’t know the last time he’s actually gone fishing and he used to love to do that with my dad.” She hesitated for a moment. “He seems to be taking a liking to Aidan, so I thought he might enjoy going with you guys.” Even though she was still sticking to her rule against actors, she did enjoy seeing Sean connect with Aidan. She felt she could at least support that relationship without violating her own convictions.

“Anything for you sweetheart,” Danny mumbled from the pillow again.

“Thanks, now get your ass out of my bed and go home.” she teased as she shoved him. 

He laughed and sat up. “Ah, just like old times,” he jokingly replied.

Aidan returned around the time that customers were starting to come in for lunch. He sat at the bar and chatted with Sean as Kate helped Eva with the customers. Danny wandered in a little while later, in fresh clothes that he’d changed into at his apartment, and joined Aidan at the bar. When Danny asked Sean if he wanted to join them fishing down on the docks, he declined at first until both Kate and Aidan insisted he go along. Sean went to the kitchen to bag up a few sandwiches for them to take along with them. He returned a short while later and the three of them headed toward the door. Kate smiled as the three of them left together.

There were noticeably more customers than they had earlier in the week, so Kate and Eva stayed quite busy. She was thankful to have something to keep her mind off of him, though occasionally that Irish voice and his breathtaking blue eyes would cross her thoughts. She started getting frustrated with herself again for even entertaining any thoughts of him. She was careful though not to snap at Eva or any customers when she realized she was getting upset about it. 

It was around 4:30 when they all returned to the bar, and the lunch crowd had cleared out of the restaurant by then. Kate asked how the fishing went and they took turns trying to claim they had each caught more than the others. Danny had set a small cooler on the bar as they came in. Sean picked the cooler up and said he’d have the cook prepare a few of the fish for them to eat and disappeared into the back with it.

Kate smiled at Danny and thanked him for taking Sean along. It was apparent that he had really enjoyed it. She offered to get them a couple of beers and they both declined. She raised her eyebrows at them in disbelief. They settled on ice tea instead. “Long Island’s?” she teased back, and they both said regulars would be just fine. She laughed at them both as she poured their drinks.

Since it was still early and there weren’t any other customers in yet, Aidan asked her if she’d let him have a chance to reclaim his dart title again. She agreed a little reluctantly. Danny stayed at the bar instead of following them to the back. 

She went over and grabbed the darts and reached out to hand three to him. He reached for them, and gently wrapped his hand around hers before taking the darts from her.

“You look really beautiful today,” he said as he slowly removed his hand and the darts, giving her a very warm smile while his eyes never faltered from remaining locked on hers.

She was completely caught off guard by the compliment, and managed a soft thank you in reply. She felt her heart beat a little faster as she went up to throw her first dart. She took a deep breath to try to concentrate on the board rather than his compliment. 

Several times when she would hand him his darts back, his hand would linger on her fingers as he thanked her before he would take them from her. His voice soft and there was just a hint of the lustful expression she had seen the night before returning. All too often his tongue would also run along his lower lip right before he would say “thank you.”

At one point, they both went to retrieve the darts at the same time, and bumped into each other. She started to fall to the side as she lost her balance and he quickly reached out and grabbed her around the waist to steady her, “Sorry about that, lass,” he said as he kept his hand on her lower back. He was looking intently into her eyes as the corners of his mouth raised slightly and his tongue licked his lips a little nervously. 

She quickly looked away from his gaze and moved so that his arm fell free. “It’s ok,” she replied a bit nervously and continued walking to retrieve the darts. This time she set the 3 darts on the table, rather than handing them directly to him. 

He glanced down at the darts, then up at her. He smiled and took a step closer to her, “are you afraid my charms might start working on you?” he asked playfully.

“I assure you that won’t be a problem,” she replied taking a step back and then moving to take her turn. 

He seemed more interested in flirting with her than actually winning, and the game finally ended with her being the winner again. 

“Maybe next time,” He said as they finished, shooting her a wink and smile. 

She gave him a small nod and headed back to the bar. “What is wrong with you?” She thought to herself as she walked away. It’s not like other handsome actors hadn’t come in from time to time and tried to win her over with their flirting and charisma. Why was Aidan getting to her so much? She was irritated with herself again that she was allowing him to have any impact on her at all. 

Kate had been so focused on the game and thwarting Aidan’s subtle little advances, that she hadn’t noticed that Mac had stopped by and was sitting over at the bar as well. Aidan headed back over to the other two and sat with them at the bar. Eva had brought the meals out for Aidan, Sean and Danny and asked Kate if she wanted to eat with them too. Kate declined and said she’d eat later and that she’d help with the customers that were now starting to come in. She expected it get quite busy since it was a Friday night, and the bar typically did get busy regardless of production crews and tourists being around. 

Mac wasn’t eating either, but stayed and chatted with them for a short while. Kate was at the bar filling some drink orders when she heard them bring up Thanksgiving. Aidan said they were taking a break from filming for the holiday, so he would have a little extra time off. Mac asked him if he had plans for what he was going to do over the holiday. Being from Ireland, Aidan said he wasn’t quite sure what was even customary to do, so he hadn’t made any plans. Kate tried to shoot Mac a look, but Mr. “Oblivious” didn’t notice it and continued talking.

“We always have a big dinner at the farm on the Saturday of the holiday. Sean, Sarah and Kate always come too since the bar is closed over the holiday weekend. You’re welcome to come out and join us if you’d like.”

Aidan glanced at Kate for a moment, who tried to remain expressionless, and then smiled back at Mac. “That sounds wonderful. I’d love to join you all.” 

Sean agreed that it would be great having him there and then he could meet Sarah too. Kate caught Danny look down at his plate and bite on his lip. She knew he usually celebrated Thanksgiving with family, but couldn’t help but wonder if he was a bit jealous of the lack of an invitation. Of course Mac didn’t notice, and even if he had, Ellie’s dislike of Danny would have been an issue. 

Mac said he’d better get home for dinner, and said his goodbyes and left. Sean had finished his meal and took his plate to the back. Kate was at the bar again filling more drink orders as Aidan and Danny were finishing their meals.

“I’d better head back to Vancouver since I have to work early tomorrow,” Aidan said as he set his empty glass back on the counter. 

Kate carried the drinks she just prepared over to a table and was on her way back to the bar when Aidan stood up to leave. He stepped into the path she was taking to return to the bar, forcing her to stop in front of him. She stopped a bit abruptly and it caused a section of curls to fall across her face. Aidan noticed and he reached up and brushed it back to sit in place with the others. He rested his hand on her shoulder rather than dropping it back to his side. “Thanks again for tolerating us last night,” he said with a smile, cocking his head to the side a bit with an eyebrow slightly raised. His fingers were gently rubbing her shoulder. Again those lustful sparkling blue eyes were staring at her and she was having a hard time catching her breath. 

She managed a small smile, and a barely audible “no problem.” Then she cleared her throat and regained her composure and added, “but don’t let it happen again.”

The corners of his lips went up even higher and he nodded back to her. “Aye, I’ll keep that in mind next time. Have a lovely night, lass. It’s always a pleasure to see you.” He gave her a wink and then moved out of the way so she could continue behind the bar. He said good bye to Danny and left.

Danny shot her an amused look after Aidan had left. “Did I hear a little bit of a quiver in your voice there?” raising his eyebrows at her as he asked.

“Did I notice a little bit of jealousy on your face about Thanksgiving?” she quickly countered back.

He looked down at the bar. She realized that she shouldn’t have reacted so harshly to his question. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

“I’m sorry Danny. That was completely out of line.” She walked over so she was directly across from him.

He looked up and gave her a small smile. His hands were resting on the bar and she reached over and put her hand on top of one and sighed. He covered it with his other hand and stared down at them.

“Forgive me?” She asked waiting for him to look up at her again. She really did count Danny as one of her dearest friends and hated the thought of ever actually hurting his feelings. She would always be the best of friends with Ellie too, but some part of her had started to resent her happiness with Mac and Bella after she came back from LA. She absolutely hated that she could even feel like that, but she also couldn’t help it sometimes. Ellie really did have the perfect fairy tale life with a devoted and loving husband, who was a fabulous father to their beautiful little girl. She worried that Ellie sensed it sometimes too, but never said anything to her. But things had been a little different between them after she came back from LA. Danny was the only one who seemed to really understand what she was feeling and had been there for her when she really needed him. She regretted that she’d even admitted to Danny one night how she felt about Ellie because saying it out loud to someone made her feel even worse than before.

He sighed and turned up to face her. “My dear Kate, I could never stay mad at you. You know that.” He leaned up and kissed her forehead. She smiled back and then had to go back to helping with the customers.


	6. Chapter 6

Kate couldn’t help but notice that Aidan hadn’t been in since the day Mac invited him to Thanksgiving. A couple of weeks had gone by and Thanksgiving Weekend had arrived. She wondered if he had gotten tied up with work, but then would remind herself that she shouldn’t care why he hadn’t been around. She certainly was not going to ask Danny or Mac if they’d talked to him. She assumed he’d still be at Thanksgiving, but wasn’t certain of that either.

Thanksgiving for them always followed the same routine. Sarah and Sean would generally head out fairly early to the farm as Sarah really enjoyed helping Ellie with all the preparations. Some years Ellie or Mac’s parents were there as well, so then Sarah and Sean were able to visit with them. This year both sets of their parents were going to visit other family members, so none of them would be there. Kate generally came out later, and would help a little with things they deemed her capable of doing, such as peeling potatoes or chopping up vegetables for the stuffing. Kate really wasn’t a very good cook, but always felt like she should at least do something to help them with the meal.

When she arrived, she saw the black Jeep in addition to Sarah and Sean’s car. She took a deep breath and exhaled before climbing out of the car and heading inside. As she walked in the door, the familiar smells of Thanksgiving dinner instantly hit her. Ellie and Sarah were wonderful cooks, and she always looked forward to sampling new dishes that they would experiment with. She heard Sarah talking in the kitchen as she closed the door. She headed in to see how things were going and if there was anything she could help with. She noticed that Aidan was there in addition to Ellie and Sarah, and was chopping vegetables.

“Kate!” Sarah called out when she saw her and went over and gave her a very warm embrace. Kate didn’t see her as often as she should since Sarah rarely came to the pub and Kate was there so much of the time. Once or twice a month, Kate would try to make it back from riding early enough to at least go over and have dinner with them though. On rainy days that she didn’t go out riding, she’d frequently spend the day with Sarah visiting shops in town or just hanging out at their house and catching up.

Ellie smiled at her and asked if she wanted a glass of wine? Kate agreed and Ellie poured one for her. Aidan had briefly looked up from chopping when she’d walked in and smiled at her, but then had gone back to his task.

“Sorry,” Ellie said, “I hope you don’t mind that we let Aidan take over your vegetable chopping job?”

Kate smiled back as she reached for the wine glass that Ellie had poured for her and said that it was fine with her. She could hear Sean and Mac in the other room talking and said she was going to go in and say hi to them. She found Bella in with them as well, sitting on the floor at the coffee table drawing a picture with her crayons. Bella smiled up and gave her the usual greeting. She showed her the picture of the farm she was drawing with horses and bunnies around it. 

Kate sat in the corner of one of the couches and watched Bella draw, while she half-way listened to Mac and Sean talk about some sporting event they were watching. She could also hear the other 3 in the kitchen talking about what sounded like a gravy recipe. Aidan was quite engaged with them as well, sharing what sounded like tips about a gravy recipe he’d tried before. 

Kate grew restless sitting after a short while, and thought she’d wander back to the kitchen to see if there was anything they needed help with yet. She knew it would still probably be a while until dinner was ready, but thought maybe there would be something she could help with now. 

“Need any help with anything?” She asked as she walked in. 

“I think we have it covered at this point,” Ellie replied.

There was a portion of the counter that wrapped around toward the dining area and had stools under it, so Kate took a seat at one of them and watched them while she sipped on her wine. They had moved on from gravy and were now discussing different stuffing recipes and preparing two different casserole dishes of stuffing to bake. She knew they always did one that was a bit more basic for Bella, and then usually made one that was less traditional too. Aidan and Sarah were mixing up various ingredients for them. It seemed that Sarah had taken as much a liking to Aidan as Sean had by the way they were getting along. 

Once they were done preparing the stuffing, Aidan had moved on to filling some pie shells that had been baked earlier. He moved over closer to Kate and worked on them by where she was sitting. He gave her a smile, and she returned it with a partial smile. He looked a bit perplexed by her response, but didn’t say anything. He mentioned he was making coconut cream again for her, hoping that might get a happier reaction, but she just nodded and looked down at her wine.

Bella ran into the kitchen saying she was starving and couldn’t wait any longer or she was surely going to die. Aidan squatted down to her level and smiled at her, “Well we can’t have dear Bella meet that fate, now can we? I’m sure we can convince your mommy to let you have a little snack while we’re still working on dinner.”

Ellie sighed and said she could have some cheese and crackers that they had set out for appetizers. Aidan helped Bella get a small plate out and placed some of the cheese and crackers on it for her. As he kneeled down again to hand it to her, she surprised him with a big hug and then took the plate and headed back to the other room.

All this domesticity and happy family time, was just a bit too much for Kate today. She finished her wine and then asked again if there was anything that they wanted her to help with. 

“No, I think we’re doing fine so far.” Ellie replied.

“I was thinking since I didn’t get to ride last weekend due to the rain that I’d go out and ride Shadow in the arena for awhile if you don’t think you’ll need any of my help with dinner.” Kate said, working very hard to stay calm about it and not let the emotions she was starting to wrestle with show.

“That’s a terrific idea,” Ellie replied. “I’m sure Shadow would love that too since he always gets restless when you miss a weekend.”

Kate gave them all her best smile and then headed out the door. She felt tears starting to fall as soon as the door closed behind her. As she walked to the barn she tried to rationalize with herself that she was being ridiculous for getting upset. She was hoping that riding would help clear her head and that she could get through the rest of the day without another near emotional melt-down. 

Shadow was out in the field with the other horses since she normally didn’t ride on Thanksgiving, but he ran over to the gate as soon as she called for him. She rested her head against his for a few minutes before walking him back to put his saddle on. She knew she shouldn’t feel so alone and sad as she had so many people in her life who loved her, but today she couldn’t seem to make the feeling of loneliness and regret go away.

About an hour or so later, Aidan wandered out to the barn to let Kate know that dinner would be ready soon and to see if she wanted any help getting the tack put away since she still hadn’t returned. He saw that all of the horses were out in the pasture, including Shadow, so he headed to the tack room to see if she was still putting her gear away. He found her in the tack room, sitting at Ellie’s desk looking through a photo album. She momentarily glanced up as he walked into the room, but then looked back down at the photos. 

He had already noticed in the house that she didn’t quite seem like her self today, but he wasn’t sure if it was just her being annoyed that he was there, or something else. He had wondered if maybe she just didn’t like Thanksgiving for some reason. Obviously she’d had a lot of heartbreak in her life, losing both her parents and whatever had happened that created her bitterness towards actors. He wondered if one of those events could have a connection to Thanksgiving. He could certainly relate to associating a holiday with a painful experience in one’s past, as he momentarily thought about Christmas. He quickly forced himself to focus back on Kate, rather than allowing any chance for his own memories to overcome him. Trudging up his past certainly would not help him now, not when he was concerned about what was going on with her. 

He was certain that it was definitely a look of sadness in her eyes when she had momentarily looked up at him. He even thought her eyes looked a bit redder than they had in the house and wondered if she’d been crying. It also seemed out of character for her to not say something to him yet, even if it had been some cheeky remark. He thought back for a moment to when he’d walked in on her and Ellie looking through the cookbook together a couple of weeks ago. Kate had seemed almost excited as they were going through it, picking out new things to try. There was absolutely no trace of that excitement today and it was painfully obvious something was wrong.

“Sometimes the best cure for what troubles you is to share it with another soul,” he softly said to her as he watched her carefully from the doorway.

She didn’t look up from the book, but she did let out a small sigh. When she spoke, her voice sounded so sad and full of regret. “For some reason, being out here at the farm today makes me wonder how my life could have been different if I hadn't made some of the bad choices that I’ve made.”

“Everyone makes mistakes Kate,” Aidan softly answered back. “You can’t change the past, but you do have the ability to learn from it and make better decisions in the future.”

Kate looked up into his eyes. Her expression matching the regret and grief he could hear in her voice. “Sometimes it’s so hard to stay away from making the same mistakes again though,” she said with overwhelming sadness in her voice. 

Aidan realized from her expression and her answer that she was starting to associate any future with him as being exactly like whatever mistake she had made in the past. It wasn’t really surprising given how she’d acted since finding out he was an actor. It was frustrating as hell though because he still had no idea what had happened to her to make her feel like this. He also realized that he had unknowingly told her to not take a chance with him since whatever had happened before was a mistake in her mind. He quickly decided if he ever had any chance to change her mind about him, he needed to know what had happened.

“Kate,” he said almost pleadingly, “please don’t assume that I would let whatever happened to you before happen again. When we first met there was something there. I know you felt it too, but as soon as you found out I was an actor everything changed. I’m still the same guy you rescued out there on that trail and spent the day with. You have to know that, and that I’d never in a million years ever want to do something to cause you any pain. Please tell me what happened to make you so afraid to take a chance with me.”

Kate hesitated for a second. What harm would it do to tell him? Maybe if he understood why she didn’t want to get involved with him it would be better. Maybe he’d finally give up trying to make something happen between them. But a part of her was actually a little afraid of that happening. The part of her that wanted to make the same mistake again. No it was for the best to tell him, so he’d hopefully understand and leave her alone.

“Alright,” She finally said with a sigh. She shifted a bit in her chair, but still kept her eyes focused down on the photo album on the table. “When I was 20 there was a movie production here in town. My friends and I would go down to watch the set and meet some of the cast and get autographs and all that sort of stuff. There was a young actor, Jackson Bennett, who was a few years older than I was working on the movie. He would come out often and talk with us, and then he started coming to the bar more frequently. Eventually we got involved and I fell in love with him. Of course my Dad was not very happy about it and didn’t seem to really like him at all. But I was sure he loved me as much as I loved him and when the production wrapped and it was time for him to go back to LA, he asked me to go with him. My dad did his best to try to talk me out of going. He practically forbid me from going, so you could imagine how that went over with me.” She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. 

“So I went, because I was young and foolish and in love. I quit art school, thinking I’d eventually start again in LA. It seemed almost magical at first. Attending parties, meeting celebrities and traveling to events with him. After about two years, we ended up getting married on a trip to Vegas. It wasn’t really planned, but we got caught up in the moment I guess. My life then seems like such a cliché looking back on it all now. Of course my dad was still not happy about the fact I’d gone to LA with him, so I was sure he wouldn’t react well to the news we’d gotten married. Jackson wasn’t a really famous actor, but I was still worried he might hear it from someone else, so I did at least call and tell him. I’m sure he was even more furious, but at least he didn’t explode over the phone when I told him. Other than that call, we had barely talked since I’d left. Then about 6 months after we were married my Aunt called.” Kate’s voice caught a bit and she closed her eyes before continuing.

“She, um,” she swallowed hard and continued “She said my dad had passed away from a sudden heart attack. I felt so bad that we still weren’t back to very good terms, and then he was gone forever.”

“I’m so sorry Kate,” Aidan said as she stopped to wipe away a few tears that were slowly starting to form in her eyes.

Kate gave him a small smile and then continued on. “Another year or so went by and then tabloid stories started coming out that Jackson was having an affair with one of the actresses working on his latest project. He assured me that they weren’t true, that they were just making up a story that wasn’t really there. I’d seen fake stories happen many times before with other people we knew, so I believed him. Then several months later I got a call from the husband of the actress he was accused of having the affair with. He’d hired a private detective because he didn’t believe her when she’d also told him it was nothing. He wanted me to know about it since he was planning on using the evidence to divorce her and thought he should warn me about it since it would likely get out in the media. He sent me pictures of them that proved it was more than Jackson had admitted.” 

Her tone had started to change from sadness to anger. “When I told Jackson I had seen the pictures, he tried to say it was over and he was sorry and it would never happen again. That it was me that he loved and he’d just got caught up in something with her when they were working together on his last project. He said that it was definitely over now. I wanted so badly to believe him. I told him I needed a little time alone to think things through.”

She paused for a moment catching her breath then continued. “Some good friends of ours were out of town and I went to stay at their apartment for a few days. The husband, Todd, worked on most of the same projects with Jackson. He came from a wealthy Hollywood family and produced a lot of the projects that Jackson had been doing since we’d returned to LA. His wife, Dylan, was an actress and I had become really good friends with her over the time I’d been there. Or at least I thought.” She shifted a bit uncomfortably in her chair again. 

“I had told Jackson I was going to stay at their apartment for at least the weekend to think things over. In the morning, I realized I had forgotten a few things that I needed at our apartment, and so I went back there after the first night to grab them. When I got there I heard the shower running and I went about gathering the stuff I had forgotten to grab the day before. I was actually glad that I didn’t have to see him again yet. Then I heard a woman’s voice coming from the shower along with his.” Kate paused and let out an angry sigh.

“I left without them knowing I had even been there, but was so furious at him and at myself for believing his lies. Dylan returned early the next day, to see how I was doing. As we were talking, there was something she had said that made me realize that she’d known about it for quite some time. When I asked her why she hadn’t told me, she said Todd had been worried about bad publicity for their current project, so had convinced her to keep it from me. Their damn project’s success was more important than our friendship.” He could hear the anger and betrayal in her voice.

“Dylan also later admitted that Todd had insisted she fly back early to do damage control when I really pushed her about it. I really thought she was my friend, but she wasn’t really any better than Jackson or Todd.” She stopped for a moment, biting at her lower lip before continuing on. “And then as things started unraveling I realized this time hadn’t even been the first time it had happened. I had just being naïve and maybe just didn’t want to see things before that had been there. When I pushed Dylan about several other actresses he’d worked closely with she did at least feel guilty enough about what she had done to confirm that his latest fling hadn’t been the only one.”

She was starting to doubt that it had been a good idea now to have shared this with him. She glanced up for a moment to see that he had a very solemn look on his face. She really wished now that she had just headed back to the house and not told him. Avoidance was something she was always good at. She decided it was probably best to just finish this as quickly as possible and head back to the house. She looked down at the album again before continuing. “So long story short, I left LA, came back here, got divorced and vowed to never get involved with anyone in the acting profession ever again.” 

She glanced up at him again and saw her sudden change in pace caught him a little off guard. She noticed he had started to bite his lower lip too and wondered what he was thinking. Why did she think this would be a good idea again? To try to break the seriousness a bit she added, “The End”, shutting the photo album and putting on the best smile she could muster. She stood up and headed toward the door.  
“We’d better get back to the house before Mac sends a search party after us,” She said as she walked toward him and the door to leave.

He gently grabbed her wrist as she walked past. “I’m sorry Kate,” he said softly.

“So am I,” she replied, pulling her arm gently away and continuing toward the house.

They walked in silence back to the house with him a few steps behind her. He could sense that she didn’t want to talk more about it, not now at least, with the way she abruptly finished and bolted for the door. He did pick up his pace a little at the end and was able to open the door to the house and give her a comforting smile as she walked past. She sighed a bit and gave him a half smile back.

Dinner was about ready, and they all sat down to eat shortly after they returned. Kate was able to put on a decent performance of hiding what she was struggling with inside. There were several conversations bouncing around as they ate. For the most part she didn’t feel like anyone was noticing that she wasn’t quite herself today. Aidan glanced her way a few times and smiled at her, but he mostly chatted with Sean and Sarah while they ate. He certainly didn’t try to push her into any of the conversations they were having, which she appreciated. All of the food was delicious as usual, and Ellie and Sarah both commended Aidan on the dishes he’d helped with and how wonderful of a cook he was.

Shortly after dinner, once they were done with dessert, Sean and Sarah said their goodbyes and headed home. 

“I think I’m going to head home too,” Kate said right after they left. 

“Absolutely not!” Ellie replied. “You have to stay over. It’s tradition!” she continued as she started to put on a small pouty face. “I’m making your favorite, my special French toast in the morning. And we’ll be in Washington for Christmas, so we won’t get to do it then, so you really must stay.”

Kate rolled her eyes at Ellie and let out a deep sigh before agreeing that she’d stay.

“Thank you,” Ellie replied. “Aidan’s staying too, but he already said he’d sleep in on the couch in the play room.” Kate shot her a look since that hadn’t been mentioned before, but since she’d already agreed to stay, she wasn’t going to argue with Ellie about it now.

“We can go up and watch a movie with Bella while Mac and Aidan watch sports.” Ellie added as she grabbed their wine glasses from the counter and refilled them. “I’ll even let you break my ‘no food in the play room’ rule if you want to bring up some pie.” Kate smiled and replied that the wine would be enough for now.

Mac and Aidan had already moved from the dining room table into the living room to watch some game that was about to start. Bella had followed them in to the room as well and was sitting between them on the couch playing with one of her favorite dolls. Ellie went over and gave Mac a quick kiss on her way to the stairs. “No getting mad and throwing things at the TV,” she added with a warning glance. 

“Yes dear,” Mac replied and gave Bella a big hug and kiss as she hopped up to follow Ellie and Kate upstairs. 

In addition to the guest room upstairs, there was another room that was a similar size that they had set up as a bit of a play room for Bella with a large couch, bean bags and a TV. There were also several doll houses, castles and other play sets of Bella’s. They let Bella pick the movie and were not surprised when she picked Brave. Kate really did love how Bella would say with delight how Merida looked just like her Kitty Cat. And how her Kitty Cat was strong and brave just like Merida. On a day like today, Kate found Bella’s unwavering belief in her strength comforting and was starting to relax compared to earlier. It could also have been the additional wine she’d consumed since returning from the barn, but either way, she was starting to feel a bit better. 

Bella was already starting to yawn before the end of the movie and could barely keep her eyes open for the final scenes. “Time for bed my little princess,” Ellie whispered to her and scooped her up to carry her down to bed. Kate followed them down with their now empty wine glasses and headed to the kitchen to refill them. She wandered into the living room after filling hers to find only Aidan sitting on the couch.

“Mac went in to say good night to Bella too,” Aidan said as she took a seat on the couch where Mac had been sitting before. 

Kate knew the drill when they both went in to say goodnight. Bella would insist on them both sitting with her and reading a bed time story before she’d go to sleep. Sometimes Mac would fall asleep before Bella would, listening to what ever tale Bella had picked for Ellie to read. “He may be gone a bit then,” she said with a little smile.

Aidan took in a deep breath then spoke, “About before, I know it’s presumptuous of me to even make assumptions like this, but Kate, I would never do anything like that if you were to give me a chance. I may be an actor, but that’s not my world Kate. That’s not the way I was raised, nor the way I would ever want to live my life.”

Kate looked at him and sighed. She knew he was being sincere, but she’d seen too many examples of promises like that shattered in the few years she was in LA from people she’d gotten to know, in addition to what had happened with her and Jackson. So many “that would never happen to us” proclamations, only to hear shortly later the said “perfect couple” were divorcing.

“I’m sorry Aidan. It wasn’t just what happened to me, but what I saw happen all the time around me when I was there. Most of those people weren’t terrible people who were intent on destroying the person who loved them, but that life, it’s just too easy to get tempted to want to try something different, when that temptation is there every day.”

Aidan looked down contemplating what to say next. She could tell he was trying to come up with some other argument to try to convince her otherwise, but she couldn’t imagine anything he could say that would change her decision. He closed his eyes before he spoke again, “If I wasn’t an actor, if I’d just been something else, could things have been different?”

Kate didn’t know what to say. She knew what the answer was. How she felt after the first day they had spent together. It wasn’t really a fair question for him to ask, as he couldn’t very well change that now. 

Aidan opened his eyes and looked at her. He could see that she was struggling to give him an answer. “I’m sorry,” he said breaking the silence. “I shouldn’t have asked you that.” He forced a small smile on his face, but she could tell he was struggling to do it. “Kate, you’re such an amazing person. I just couldn’t imagine you not being part of my life. I wish you’d be willing to give me a chance, but I understand now why you’re so reluctant to. I’m not going anywhere though Kate, and I would love to prove to you that I’m not anything like Jackson. I don’t want to pressure you though, so could we work on just being good friends, for now at least?”

She realized she probably had been giving him a lot of mixed signals in the weeks since he’d come back to town and not all of them had been friendly ones. She was definitely struggling with her feelings for him. A part of her also couldn’t imagine him not being some part of her life too. She was just so afraid of the same thing happening with him that happened with Jackson, and she couldn’t bear to go through that again. After hesitating for a moment, she smiled and nodded.

“Fabulous,” he said with a wink. “It will be great to have someone to share my reviews of the art exhibits I’ve seen in Vancouver with, as Danny, Mac and Sean really didn’t seem to appreciate them.”

She let out a little laugh and her smile grew a bit more. He was relieved to see a smile back on her face and that she wasn’t as sad as she was out in the barn. He sure as hell wasn’t going to just give up on her, even if it might be difficult to win her trust. But he could be quite persistent and she was worth fighting for. He was glad that at least now he knew what had been holding her back and that gave him hope that he could prove himself to her. 

“Well?” She finally asked. He looked at her a little puzzled. “I want to hear about the art exhibits you’ve seen in Vancouver,” she replied with a smile.

He could barely contain his excitement as he smiled back at her. “I actually took some pictures on my phone if you’re interested,” he said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. She smiled at him and scooted closer, resting right up against his arm as he pulled up the pictures. This day didn’t turn out as either had expected, but as they sat next to each other, discussing the exhibits, their shared love of art couldn’t help but bring them closer together. 

They had been talking for a while when Ellie finally came back out. She couldn’t help but smile seeing them so close on the couch, but she was sure to keep it toned down when they glanced up at her. She knew Kate too well and the last thing she needed was a friend pushing her into anything she thought she wasn’t ready for.

“Don’t let me interrupt you,” She said as she continued out to the kitchen. “I just wanted to put a few things away before bed.” She was glad Mac had fallen asleep on Bella’s bed because who knew what sort of mess he’d end up making of things. 

“We should probably go and see if Ellie needs any help,” Kate said after they were finished with the last picture he had taken. “Thanks for sharing them with me,” she said as she stood up.

“You know I love talking about art with you,” Aidan replied as he smiled at her, “so a thank you isn’t necessary. And I’d love to visit the museum in person with you if you’re ever interested in driving into the city to do that.”

She said she’d consider it as she smiled and walked toward the kitchen. He followed behind her hoping that she would take him up on his offer at some point. At least it gave him something to work on since she hadn’t immediately refused. 

Ellie was finishing up in the kitchen as they walked in. She smiled at the two of them, but was a bit disappointed they had left their cozy spot on the couch.

“Are you ready for our other Thanksgiving tradition?” Kate asked Ellie. Then turning to Aidan she asked, “have you ever played Yahtzee?” as her competitive smile returned.

They returned to the dining room table with the dice and score cards. Ellie had opened another bottle of wine and they sat around the table playing and enjoying the wine. Kate won most of the games, but Aidan was able to beat her one time. 

After several games, Ellie said she was going to head to bed, since Bella would likely be up early and she needed to get up to make breakfast. 

“One more game?” Aidan asked as Kate was starting to put the dice and score cards away. “We didn’t get to make a wager for something and it just doesn’t feel complete with out that you know.”

She smiled and figured this was something that was a bit more fate than skill anyway, so wasn’t terribly concerned that he had been hustling her on it. 

“I guess it depends on the wager,” Kate replied giving him a questioning look. “What did you have in mind?”

“If I win, you promise you’ll come to Vancouver and go to an art exhibit with me.” Aidan said.

She thought about it for a moment, flipping the dice in her fingers. “Alright, she finally said, and if I win, you have to buy me a nice dice charm for my bracelet.”

He grinned and agreed that he’d happily do that if she won. She refilled their wine glasses and teased him that she hoped he was ready to lose again as they began. She probably could have used a better strategy than she did, but a part of her actually did want to go see an exhibit with him. She also just wasn’t having a lot of luck with the dice this time. He shot her a mischievous grin as they rolled their last round and he won. 

Kate put the dice and score pads away while Aidan took the wine bottle and glasses back to the kitchen.

"So how did you get to be such a good cook," she asked as she watched him rinse out the glasses.

He leaned against the counter as he dried one of the glasses. "When I was growing up I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and she loved to cook. She would have me help her and I just really enjoyed it. I ended up working as a line cook at a really nice restaurant while I was going to acting school and I learned a lot from the chef there.”

He finished up the other glass and they headed to the stairs. She stopped and let him go first, and he looked a bit embarrassed remembering what happened the last time when he was following her up the stairs. When he got to the top, he stopped for a moment and leaned against the door to the play room.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to share your story with me,” he said giving her a sympathetic smile.

She returned his look with a small smile and said goodnight and went into her room and closed the door. Telling him about what had happened actually did make her feel better. It was like a weight had been lifted and even though she didn’t know what to expect going forward, at least having that out in the open made her feel less guarded around him. As she dozed off to sleep, she couldn’t help but wonder how things could have been different if he hadn’t been an actor.

Aidan woke up early as usual and headed downstairs to see if anyone else was already awake. He found Ellie in the kitchen working on her special French Toast. He asked if he could help, and she gladly accepted his offer. As they worked on breakfast, she said it was really nice seeing the two of them sitting together last night. She assured him that even though Kate might seem reluctant to open up to him, she could tell that she really did care for him, and that if he really was interested in her, that he shouldn’t give up too easily. He smiled back and said he had no intention of giving up on her and that he appreciated her vote of confidence in him. 

Kate came down a short while later and Aidan asked if she’d like some coffee. He’d found Ellie’s coffee flavors when working in the kitchen the day before and pulled out the hazelnut and motioned to Kate with it. She smiled and nodded, a bit surprised that he remembered that she had liked that flavor, but she was slowly realizing how his attention to everything she said or did really shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore.

It had started raining quite a bit by the time they finished breakfast, so a trail ride was out of the question. Aidan and Mac had decided to watch some football while Kate, Ellie and Bella played some of the board games that were easy enough for Bella to play with them. Aidan wandered over a few times and would sit in on a few of the games, before returning back to watch the game again with Mac. There were plenty of leftovers from the day before, so they spent most of the day snacking and just lounging around. Kate’s anxiety about everything the day before was gone, and she enjoyed spending the time with them all. She appreciated that while Aidan was being friendly, he had backed off his subtle flirting. 

Aidan said that he needed to head back to Vancouver shortly after dinner time and that he’d get a hold of her to plan a day to go to an art exhibit. He thanked them all for letting him join in on their wonderful holiday celebration before he headed out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Right after the holiday break, Aidan was extremely busy with filming and so it had taken a couple of weeks before they could find a day that would work for them both to meet in Vancouver. He had suggested meeting at his apartment, but she declined and said she’d just meet him at the art museum instead. They’d agreed to visit a different one than where he’d gone before as the new one had some exhibits she’d read about and really wanted to see in person. Since it was a weekday, she said she could get away for lunch, but needed to be back before they got busy at the bar for dinner. They agreed to meet there shortly after the museum opened for the day. He was hoping she’d at least stay and have lunch with him before she had to head back, but expected to have to work on her a little for that.

As he stood there waiting for her to arrive, he thought about how much he missed seeing her. The absence of being around her fiery spirit was starting to weigh on him, so he was really looking forward to seeing her today. Ellie had told him he was welcome to come visit them on the farm any weekend that he had off, but he thought it best to give her some space for a couple of weeks. He knew she’d honor their bet and he’d get to spend time with her at the museum, so showing up at the farm on a Sunday when she would most likely be there seemed a bit too much right now. 

He was standing off to the side in the lobby of the museum, where he could see people coming in the door, watching for her to arrive. When she finally came in, he felt his chest tighten a bit and his heart raced a little faster. Her soft red curls fell over her shoulders as she glanced around for him. She always took his breath away when he saw her, and today was no exception. She finally saw him and a warm smile spread across her face as she started walking towards him. He wanted so badly to reach out and touch her as she came up in front of him, but fought back the urge and stood there just smiling instead.

After a quick exchange of greetings, he said he had a surprise for her and told her to hold her hand out. She gave him a reluctant look, but finally lifted her hand up and held it in front of her. He pulled a small white box out of his pocket and put it in her hand. She gave him a knowing smile, and opened the lid. Inside the box was a dice charm that had little sparkly stones where each of the dots on the dice would be.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said as she lifted it up out of the box. “But you’re the one who won the bet, not me.” 

“What ever gave you the idea that I like to follow the rules,” he teased back.

She couldn’t help but feel a little touched that he’d gotten it for her, especially thinking back to the story about her parents. Although she wasn’t terribly surprised that he had, since it definitely seemed like something he would do, but it still made her heart melt a little. He helped her attach it to her bracelet and then they set off to explore the exhibits.

Kate couldn’t remember the last time she’d been at an art exhibit, and she was having a fantastic time looking at everything and talking about the exhibits with Aidan. She had noticed that he seemed to spend more time gazing at her than the actual exhibits, but she didn’t really mind. She had wondered before arriving if he’d be back to his subtle flirting ways, like during their last dart game. She knew she had probably caught him a bit off guard when she’d told him about Jackson at Thanksgiving, and was wondering what effects that would have on things with him. She had honestly felt a little nervous about seeing him again before getting there, which she told herself was ridiculous. She was relieved at how easy it was to be there together and enjoy talking about all the exhibits without feeling awkward around him at all. 

Aidan had stopped to look at an exhibit as Kate had wandered ahead a bit. She came back quite excited about something she saw in the next area and wanted to show him. He had been standing with his hands in his jean pockets and she linked her arm through his and dragged him along. She leaned into him and rested her free hand on his forearm while they walked, explaining why she was so excited about it. He was having a hard time focusing on what she was saying as he was overwhelmed by having her so close and touching his arm. He’d pushed his long sleeves up earlier, as it was fairly warm in the museum, and the sensation of her soft fingers resting on his bare arm sent shivers up his spine and made it nearly impossible to concentrate on what she was saying. And as she leaned in closer to him and spoke, he could smell a faint trace of her perfume which actually reminded him of lilies. He hoped she couldn’t hear his heart pounding in his chest as they were walking. It took all his strength to remain casual about it and not to show the emotions he was feeling inside.

When they reached the exhibit, she pulled her hands away to point out the exhibit she was talking about. He tried to refocus on her words, but it took him a while for the adrenaline rush to completely subside. He kept thinking how beautiful she was and the way her lips would move as she excitedly explained the particular exhibit. He also couldn’t help think about the sensations he felt having her fingers gently glide against his arm. Either she didn’t notice that he was not really paying attention to what she was saying, or she didn’t mind, because when she finished talking, she just smiled and walked on to look at the next one. 

He was glad he’d regained his composure as they were finishing up, and was able to bring up lunch without tripping over his words. At first she declined, but he insisted that he’d really like to buy her lunch for driving down to spend the morning with him at the museum. It was so much better having someone to talk with rather than when he had walked around at the other museum all alone. As they sat and ate lunch together, their conversation mainly focused on the exhibits, as Kate shared which ones had been her favorites and why. He was glad she didn’t push him for his favorites. He’d spent so much time watching her, he wasn’t exactly sure what he would have said if she’d asked. He did notice as they were waiting for their food to arrive, that she kept playing with the new dice charm he’d given her.

The next week the film production was back in Ellisburg, so Aidan was able to stop in the bar a few times while they were there. One day he wrapped his scenes in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day visiting with Sean at the bar while they watched TV and chatted. He really enjoyed the comradery he had with Sean. He convinced Kate to play a round of darts with him, although he didn’t push for a new wager. He came away the winner though, so said at least he’d regained the title of champion for now. 

Danny stopped in to see him and have dinner when he got off work. He had an early shift the next morning, so he couldn’t stay as late as he normally would have. They were setting up some plans to get together and play guitars again while they ate at the bar. Kate was at the bar filling some drink orders as they were discussing what days they might be able to do it. Aidan mentioned that they were taking a break from filming for the upcoming US Thanksgiving holiday, and that he was going to be flying back to Ireland to visit his parents and celebrate his Mom’s birthday with her. He glanced over at Kate as he said it, and his expression changed to one she hadn’t really seen before on his face. One of sadness or heartache, but she wasn’t really sure. It didn’t last long, as he turned his attention back to Danny. She wasn’t sure if it was because he’d mentioned his mom, or if it was because he’d be gone for a while and was thinking he’d miss her. If it was because of what had happened to her own mom, she didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable about it and thought maybe she should say something to let him know she wasn’t upset about him mentioning it.

“I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you and I’m sure your mom will appreciate that you’ll be there to celebrate her birthday with her too,” She said with a smile as she walked by to take the drink order to a table. He nodded and smiled, but something about him still seemed a bit off. 

After Danny had left she asked him when he was leaving and how long he’d be back home for. There was a brief flash of that same look when she mentioned him going back home. She thought for a moment it seemed familiar, like an emotion she’d felt, but couldn’t figure it out. Or he may have had that expression on his face when she was telling him about Jackson in the barn. He quickly changed the topic, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it was he seemed to be avoiding.

He was back again a couple days later when he was done shooting for the day. He was waiting for Danny to get done working and then was heading over to his apartment to play guitars. Kate laughed at him and said she was glad that they wouldn’t be scaring her customers away again, shooting him a mischievous grin. He laughed back, but she could tell something was going on with him. This time it was like he wanted to say something but was hesitating for some reason. She noticed a couple times when she had been over getting drinks at the bar that it looked like he was going to ask her something and then he didn’t.

“What’s up with you?” She finally just asked.

He looked down at his drink on the bar and licked his lips nervously for a second.

“I’m that transparent, am I?” He replied a bit sheepishly. She smiled and nodded. He sighed a bit and then continued. “When I was out shopping for my mom’s birthday, I saw something that reminded me of you. I wasn’t sure how you’d react to a gift that wasn’t part of a wager, so I wasn’t sure if I should mention it.” 

She let out a little laugh. “Would you feel better if I beat you at something first?” she asked with a mischievous smile. 

A wicked grin flashed across his face as he replied, “Aye, but sadly, I’m not sure there’s anything you can beat me at, so then I’d still be stuck with it.” As he finished he gave her a devious wink.

“Oh!” she quickly replied, “that sounds like a challenge if I’ve ever heard one.” She thought for a moment then reached into her pocket and pulled out a quarter and reached under the bar for a shot glass. “Quarters, first one to sink 3 wins.”

He gave her a puzzled look, so she explained that the object is to bounce the quarter into the glass off the bar. She said she’d demonstrate and wouldn’t count it against him, as she picked up the quarter and expertly bounced it right into the glass. He knew he didn’t stand a chance at this watching how easily she did it. “Very well, if that’s what you’d like to play, but I think the deck is stacked against me on this one.”

She let him go first, and his quarter didn’t even hit the edge of the glass. She smiled and took it back, sinking it in the glass again. He tried a second time, and at least the quarter hit the glass that time, though no where close to going in. She of course easily bounced her second shot in as well. After his third failed attempt, she bounced in her third shot and shot him a wicked grin.

“You should know by now not to challenge me,” She said still smiling at him. “So what did I win today?”

He laughed and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white box. She opened the box, expecting it to be a new charm. Her grin quickly vanished as she looked inside, and saw a pendant that was a beautiful ornate silver heart with lilies etched into it along with a few small diamonds, attached to a silver chain. 

He wasn’t sure what to make of her expression and silence, “if you don’t like it, it’s OK, I can take it back.”

“No, no,” she said, “it’s perfect. I love it.” Her smile slowly returned to her face. “You don’t have to buy me gifts though,” she added.

“It just reminded me so much of you and I just couldn’t leave without it once I saw it.” He replied.

She smiled softly back at him and asked if he’d help her put it on, as she walked around to his side of the bar. After he did the clasp for her, she turned and smiled again and reached up to give him a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered as she hugged him. He was caught off guard at first, but promptly wrapped his arms around her waist in return. He could smell the scent of lilies again as her hair brushed gently up against his cheek. His heart raced faster at the feel of her body pressing up against his. The hug didn’t last long and then she quickly retreated behind the bar again. Even though it was brief, it still left him with a warmth that radiated through out his entire body for quite sometime even after he’d left.

He stopped in one last time before he was headed back to Ireland. He’d been back in Vancouver again filming, but had the day off and was meeting Danny again and some of the other guys in his band to play guitars. He came in for a bite to eat before meeting Danny when he was done working. 

“I was bored the other day in my trailer and worked on my quarter technique,” he said to Kate with a little wink as she brought him his order. 

She laughed and then thanked him for the warning, so she knew it wouldn’t be as easy to beat him next time. She asked if he was excited to be heading home to Ireland soon. She caught a glimpse of that sad look again for a moment, before he answered. She bit at her lip for a moment, before she spoke.

She leaned a little closer to him across the bar, “How about I challenge you to quarters again and if I win, you tell me why you don’t seem all that happy to be going home?” Her expression was a mix of competitiveness and concern.

He let out a quiet laugh before he replied. “That doesn’t seem like a very exciting wager. It’s nothing Kate.” He hesitated for a moment then added, “I don’t really like to fly that much, and it’s such a long flight back. That’s all.” She could tell he was lying, but she didn’t push him on it and let it go. She actually hated to fly as well, so she could tell there was something else going on, but he didn’t seem too eager to talk about whatever that was.

Aidan was filming in town the week that he returned from Ireland, but he only had a couple of small scenes, so he had planned to take advantage of that to spend more time at the bar and see Kate. It was the beginning of December, and most of the shops and residences were busy decorating for Christmas. He’d just walked in and sat down at the bar when she came out from the back with a big box. 

“Perfect!” She said excitedly when she saw him at the bar. “You can help me put up Christmas decorations.”

She saw a look that was similar to what she noticed before he’d gone home for his mom’s birthday. “Hey, are you OK?” she asked when he didn’t seem eager to help. She had sort of expected him to jump at the chance to help her with something.

It was almost as if his mind had wandered off somewhere else for a moment, and he hadn’t even heard her question. “Sorry, what was that?” He asked as he realized she was staring at him. He was at least forcing a smile on his face, but she didn’t think it seemed very sincere.

“Not a fan of Christmas?” She asked, trying to make some connection between today’s conversation and when she saw the same look before.

“Not particularly,” he said with a small sigh. “But if you need some help, I’d be happy to lend you a hand.” 

“Thanks,” she replied, still trying to figure out what was going on in that head of his. 

They worked mostly in silence as he helped her put up strings of garland and ornaments above the bar. Sean had been gone when they started, and returned while they were still working on it. 

“Are you planning to return to Ireland over Christmas too?” Sean asked as he watched the two of them putting up the decorations.

She saw that look on his face again for a moment before he spoke, “No, I wasn’t going to go back again since I just went last week. I’m actually planning to go and stay out on Gabriola Island for part of the Holiday break.”

Kate’s eyes lit up when she heard him mention Gabriola Island. 

“Isn’t that the island you’ve always talked about wanting to visit?” Sean asked her, noticing her reaction.

Aidan turned and saw the look on her face, which she tried to play down, but it was true that she’d really wanted to go there someday. Gabriola Island was known as the “Isle of the Arts”, being home to dozens of world renowned and emerging artists.

“You should come with me.” He said with an excited smile. “The couple that I’m renting a cottage from even has a sail boat and said they would take me out sailing while I’m there.”

She looked a bit reluctant, but he could tell she was considering it. He was hoping art and sailing would be too enticing for her to turn down. He’d actually made plans to do this even before he’d met her, and now it seemed almost like fate was even helping to push them closer together.

“You should go with him Kate,” Sean chimed in. “You’ve talked about visiting there for years, and this would be a great chance to go. With Ellie and Mac going to Washington, it would just be you, me and Sarah for Christmas, which isn’t that exciting anyway.”

She tried arguing that she should stay and help with the bar, but Sean assured her they’d be fine without her for a few days, in addition to the bar being closed during the holiday. 

She finally sighed and gave in. “Fine, as long as you’re sure it won’t be a problem and that there’s enough room for me, then I’ll come along.”

Aidan was elated at her decision. While she was relieved to see the look of sadness was gone, she still wasn’t sure going away with him was a great idea either. However the more she thought about the opportunity to finally get to visit the island, the more excited she started to get about the trip.

The next couple of weeks went by fairly quickly. Aidan had stopped in quite a few times and they talked a bit about logistics of the trip. Danny had been in the bar one of the times they were talking about it, and he couldn’t help but give her a suggestive look about it when Aidan didn’t see him. She rolled her eyes at him and punched him in the shoulder as she walked by. She could tell by the way Aidan acted around her, that he still had feelings for her, but ever since Thanksgiving he’d really backed off on his advances and she was having a good time just being friends and getting to know him better. Of course Danny would jump to other conclusions about going away for the holiday with him. She trusted Aidan to be a gentleman though, as that was just his nature and she couldn’t imagine him trying to take advantage of her. Plus if he did, she’d dealt with enough drunk cocky dicks at the bar to be able to take care of herself.


	8. Chapter 8

Aidan had convinced Kate to meet at his apartment and they would ride together to the airport from there. He’d arranged to have a car drive them over, so they wouldn’t have to deal with parking at the airport. Kate was running a bit late due to a car accident that backed up traffic a few miles from his apartment, so by the time she arrived the driver was already there and they were waiting in the parking lot for her. Aidan had already loaded his suitcase and guitar into the car, and helped her with her suitcase. 

Aidan had chartered a flight with a local pilot who had flown quite a few of the cast around to different islands and more remote locations near Vancouver. They were flying into Nanaimo, and then taking a ferry across to Gabriola Island. When the plane was starting to take off in Vancouver, Aidan noticed that Kate was gripping the armrests so tight that her knuckles were practically white.

“Not a fan of flying either?” He asked her with his eyebrow raised.

“Not really,” she forced out, though her voice sounded so shaky she surprised even herself when she spoke.

“I still remember the first time I flew when I was about 6,” he shared. “I was so terrified of what might happen that I was practically in tears. My mom collected unique coins and medallions from around the world, and she reached into her purse and pulled out a copper medallion and told me that it was a special talisman that would protect me when we were flying. I held on to it the entire flight.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a circular object that was about 3 inches in diameter. “I still to this day take it with me on every flight. Most of the time I just flip it around in my pocket when I’m flying to give me something to do.”

She glanced down as he flipped it over a couple times in his fingers. 

“Here, why don’t you hold on to it,” he said with a warm smile.

“I’m not 6 years old, Aidan, I don’t think a ‘magical medallion’ is going to make me feel any better,” she said giving him a slightly annoyed glance, rolling her eyes a little.

“Aye, but at least one of your hands won’t be trying to break the armrest while we’re flying over to the island.” He said with a mischievous grin.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then removed one of her hands from it’s armrest to take the medallion. He leaned a little closer and pointed out the various engravings that were on it as she was holding it. She relaxed a little bit as she studied the medallion, wondering where it might be from. She eventually did remove her other hand as well and started tracing over the engravings as she studied it more. 

He tried to lighten her mood a bit more with some conversation. “Who would have ever expected the lass who dislikes actors, to be spending the Christmas holiday with the actor who dislikes Christmas.” She chuckled a bit at the irony of that as she continued rubbing the medallion between her fingers.

The flight didn’t take very long and soon they were boarding a ferry to ride over to Gabriola Island. Aidan had explained to her on the flight over that they were staying with a couple who owned a house and guest cottage on the island that had actually known his parents. Mr. Kelly had been a teacher and had spent a couple years teaching in Ireland at the same school that his parents had taught at. When Mr. Kelly retired from teaching they had bought the property on Gabriola and moved there. Aidan hadn’t seen them in years, but when he came over to do the show, his parents had let them know he was going to be there and they’d set up this visit over Christmas. 

Kate felt so much better being off the airplane and was enjoying the scenery as they rode over on the ferry. They were standing out on one of the decks and Aidan had his camera out and was taking pictures as they went along. An older lady asked if they wanted a picture of the two of them together, which Kate initially declined, but with a little prodding from Aidan and the lady, she finally agreed. The lady said they made a lovely couple as she handed the camera back to Aidan. Kate felt a bit embarrassed by it all and spent a fair amount of time looking out at the water rather than making eye contact with Aidan. 

Even though it was late December, they were fortunate that the forecast for the week was for it to stay dry. It was still quite cold, but she was glad the forecast was only overcast skies, as she had started dreading the thought of being trapped inside with him the entire time if it had been constantly raining. They had been standing out on the deck of the ferry since they boarded and Aidan noticed her cheeks were starting to get quite rosy from the cold.

“You look a bit chilled there, Kate. Would you like to go inside and get something warm to drink?”

She smiled and nodded and they retreated inside to find something warm to drink. As they left the deck, she thought about how considerate he always was. From his silly little opening doors for her, to him now worrying about her being too cold. 

The Kelly’s were waiting for them when the ferry arrived. They were both incredibly friendly and made Kate feel as though they’d known her all their lives. Mr. Kelly was tall and thin and going a bit bald, with the remaining hair that he had being a silvery gray. Mrs. Kelly was also thin, and about the same height as Kate. She had kind blue eyes and a warm smile, with short curly blonde hair with wisps of white spread throughout. As they drove from the ferry back to their home, they pointed out various sites and shops along the way. 

The house and guest cottage were on the North East side of the Island, located on a high bluff that overlooked the Straight of Georgia. Mr. Kelly parked up by the main house and offered to help them take their bags to the cottage. There was a path that connected the two, yet they seemed quite distinctly separate. Mr. Kelly said to give them a call if there was anything that they needed, and that Mrs. Kelly had stocked the refrigerator and cupboards for them. He helped them set their bags inside the door and then headed back to the main house.

The cottage was very charming and had large windows that looked out from the living area across the straight. It was wonderful that it sat up high enough to have a beautiful view, yet from its location anyone down on the beach below wouldn’t be able to look up and see them inside. There was a gorgeous stone fireplace, and Kate had noticed a stack of firewood on the front porch when they came in. Kate quickly noticed however that there was only one bedroom, something Aidan hadn’t mentioned previously.

“Why didn’t you tell me there was only one bedroom,” she asked with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

He nervously bit at his lip before replying. “I was afraid if I told you, then you wouldn’t have agreed to come along.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and shot him an unhappy look, “You’re probably right about that.”

“No worries, Lass, I was told the couch is very roomy and comfortable, and I plan on sleeping there.” He quickly replied hoping to diffuse the situation. 

She grumbled a bit as she headed into the bedroom with her suitcase. The layout was similar to her apartment, with the bathroom located off the bedroom. There was a large dresser and some nightstands surrounding a large king size bed. There were also a couple of chairs and a reading lamp between the two chairs. Mrs. Kelly had decorated it with a nautical theme, which wasn’t something Kate would have ever chosen herself, but in the cottage it seemed quite fitting.

Aidan appeared at the doorway and leaned against the frame. “Would it be OK if I at least put my suitcase and guitar in here so they aren’t cluttering up the living room?” he asked with an apologetic look on his face.

“Fine,” she replied as she started taking clothes out of her suitcase and putting them in the dresser and the closet.

“Would you be so kind as to allow me to use one of the drawers in the dresser, or do you expect to need them all?” He asked as he watched her putting her clothes away with a bit of annoyance still very visible in her motions.

The dresser was actually quite large, and it was very apparent that she wouldn’t need them all, so she could tell he was just being overly dramatic to try to either make her realize she was being ridiculous or to get some other reaction out of her. She took a deep breath and held it for a moment and then let it out slowly. It was going to be a very long vacation if they started out arguing with each other, so she decided she’d better just let it go.

She put on her best smile and pointed at the bottom drawer. Then she grabbed a book out of her travel bag and retreated to the living room before she decided to snap something else back at him again. She wandered over and looked out one of the large windows. It really was a breathtakingly beautiful view. She could see a few sail boats out in the straight and other larger ships as well. She leaned against the pane and stared out taking in the view. She was thinking about how long it had been since she’d actually taken a vacation anywhere. The last time would have been a trip with Jackson when they went skiing in Colorado. 

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Aidan walk up beside her. She gasped and jumped when he came up next to her and said, “Aye, that’s a lovely view isn’t it?”

“Seriously Aidan, you need to wear a bloody bell!” she yelled at him. She looked down at his feet and realized he’d taken his shoes off and was only in socks, which helped muffle the sound of his footsteps as he walked on the wood floor. 

He gave her his best sorry expression, but she could tell deep down, he seemed to sort of enjoy it. She was seriously considering finding him some sort of jingling accessory to wear, or she couldn’t imagine how she was going to survive if he kept scaring her half to death the entire time they were here. She laughed inside to herself thinking about him with a cat bell collar on.

“Would the lady forgive me if I make you some lunch?” He asked apologetically. “Or would you like to go and explore the island a bit and find a restaurant to eat at? The Kelly’s said we were free to use their second car for touring around the island.”

Her sense of adventure won out over having him cook, and so they set off to explore the island and find someplace to eat while they were out. Aidan took his camera along and they stopped at several spots on their journey for him to take photos. He tried to get her to pose for some, but he wasn’t having any luck. She did agree to take a few of him, and he took the opportunity to get as close as possible to remind her how the camera worked again. He loved smelling the scent of lilies that she always seemed to wear and a chance to brush his fingers against hers.

It was nearing late afternoon when they finally returned to the cottage, and Aidan built a fire. Mr. Kelly had told them that there were some small baseboard heaters, but for the most part, the fire was the best way to really keep the cottage nice and comfortable if they were up for the chore. The Kelly’s had invited them to join them in the main house for dinner, so they spent the evening visiting with them and enjoying Mrs. Kelly’s excellent culinary skills. Aidan happily helped her in the kitchen finishing up preparation of the dishes. While they were eating, they decided that the following day had the best forecast to go out sailing, so they agreed that they would go then. 

Kate couldn’t help but notice all the little gentlemanly things Aidan continued to do while they were there, pulling out her chair at the dinner table for her, opening doors, and helping her put her coat back on when it was time to leave. Their enjoyable afternoon spent exploring the various shops and galleries, as well as the evening with the Kelly’s, had pushed the earlier friction out of her mind.

Aidan worked on the fire again when they returned, and she went in to get ready for bed. She was curled up under the covers of the plush bed reading a book when he came in to change for bed as well. He shot her a smile as he walked in the room and headed to his drawer. 

“Thank you for letting me come along,” she said as he was pulling something to sleep in out of his drawer. “I really do appreciate it, even if I don’t always show it.”

“Kate, you never have to apologize to me for your feisty spirit,” He said with a smile, “I’m the one who is thankful that you agreed to come along and I’m glad to know you’re having a good time.” He disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He came out a short while later in flannel pajama bottoms and a grey t-shirt and grabbed a blanket and pillow from the closet. He wished her goodnight and headed back out to the couch. As Kate drifted off to sleep a short while later, his warm smile and sparkling blue eyes flooded her thoughts.

Kate awoke to the smell of coffee and dishes clanking in the kitchen. It was quite early, since they needed to get out on the water before the late afternoon winds would make it too rough. He poked his head in the door a moment later to see if she was awake yet.

“Hey sleepyhead, we need to get going soon. I made some coffee and eggs for you if you’d like.”

She groggily ran her fingers through her hair as she sat up in bed. Thinking to herself, he’s much too chipper for this early in the morning. She dragged herself from bed and off to the bathroom to get dressed. She was still yawning when she reached the kitchen and he shoved a mug into her hands. She took a smell of the coffee, and caught a whiff of hazelnut. She smiled and thanked him as she sat at the small kitchen table, and he set a plate of eggs in front of her. It was so surreal to have someone making her breakfast and serving her coffee, well someone other than Ellie, which really didn’t count like that. 

As they reached the marina and walked along the dock, Kate was in awe of how beautiful the Kelly’s sailboat was. They were out in the bay a short while later sailing along the gentle waves. Kate really felt like she was in heaven whenever she was out on the water. It had been way too long since she’d been able to go out sailing. Danny’s parents had divorced when she was in LA, and by the time she returned and rebuilt her friendship with him, they had sold the sailboat as part of the divorce proceedings. Jackson had always talked about taking her sailing out to Catalina when they were in LA, but they never actually found the time to do it. There was something about the sea breeze and the gentle rocking of the waves that she could never get enough of. When she was younger, she had always dreamt of going on long sailing trips to visit all the various islands throughout British Columbia.

Aidan couldn’t help but notice how happy Kate looked while they were sailing. He’d seen her happy over other things, like beating him at darts and looking at art exhibits, but there was something different about her expression out on the water. She seemed so relaxed and completely at ease as she sat on the boat and the sea breeze blew her hair gently away from her face. He was taking pictures and was actually able to get her to pose for a few without putting up any protest. Her smile melting his heart as he focused on getting just the right shot. Mr. Kelly let her steer the boat for a while and she was helping him adjust the sails. Aidan had attempted to help, but wasn’t sure what he was doing. Kate laughed softly at him and then showed him how to do it properly. She teased him that it was nice to spend the day on a boat with someone who wasn’t curled up over the side getting sick. 

They spent the evening alone at the cottage, as the Kelly’s had a prior engagement to meet some other friends on the island. Aidan prepared a delicious dinner of fresh halibut steaks that he’d purchased from some fishermen at the marina. She was actually very impressed by how excellent of a cook he really was. After dinner, Kate curled up under a blanket on the couch and went back to reading the novel she had been working on. There wasn’t a TV in the cottage, which Kate was actually pleased about, and Aidan hadn’t seemed to mind. Aidan sat in one of the large chairs across the room, alternating between tending to the fire, reading articles on his tablet, and watching her read. Every once in a while she’d glance up from her book and catch him watching her. He would smile at her and then return to reading on his tablet. 

The next day they were back out exploring the sites around the island and visiting more art galleries. The weather had remained dry, though more clouds had been coming in, threatening to bring rains along. There were a few hiking trails that they had talked about trying and decided they should explore a few of them before any rain came and caused them to be too muddy to enjoy. By the time they returned to the cottage that evening, they were both quite exhausted. Kate had crawled into bed and fell asleep reading her novel. She awoke later in the middle of the night to find he had carefully moved her book to the nightstand and turned off the lights for her. She could hear the fire crackling in the other room, causing a soft glow to reach the bedroom as well. 

The following day, Aidan and Mr. Kelly were going to go fishing. As Aidan was leaving the cottage, Kate said she was going to go out jogging along the beach and spend some time enjoying the views. She had gone back into the bedroom to change into some running clothes, and noticed how sore some of her muscles were from hiking the day before. The bathroom in the cottage was much fancier than hers at home, with a large gorgeous tub and a separate shower. She’d noticed several containers of bath salts and bubble bath that were sitting by the tub the first day they arrived. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d just spent time leisurely soaking in a tub and the idea quickly won out over going jogging on the beach. As she gently lowered herself into the tub filled with soothing hot bubbly water, she exhaled and felt completely relaxed. 

Eventually the water started to cool off, and so she climbed out and grabbed a towel. Everything about the cottage was so luxurious, even down to the bath towels. They were absolutely the softest and plushest towels she had ever used. She was just finishing drying off and had wrapped it around her when she thought she heard a sound in the cottage. She listened for a moment and didn’t hear anything else, when suddenly the bathroom door swung open.

Aidan’s surprised shriek was possibly louder than hers, as he hadn’t expected her to still be there. Of course he was even more surprised to find her standing there with her hair pulled up into a loose bun on top of her head, with a few loose wet curls trailing down her neck, wearing only a bath towel. He quickly apologized and turned away, though not after taking a moment to look her over from head to toe and back up again. 

She expected him to leave and close the door, but rather he stood there and deliberately locked the door handle and reached to the other side to try the knob. “Aye, just as I thought, the door does actually lock. Perhaps later I can teach you how to properly lock a door, Kate.” He teased turning slowly to look back at her and see her reaction. It may not have been exactly the reaction he expected, though as well as he knew her, he wasn’t surprised when a wet washcloth she quickly grabbed from the side of the tub came flying at his chest. 

He caught it, then chuckled at her and took a step closer, “You’re in a bit of a compromising position to be starting a towel fight with me, I’d say.” His smile changing to a mischievous grin as he raised his eyebrow at her a bit suggestively.

She realized that probably wasn’t the smartest move given she was only wearing a bath towel, but she was never very good about considering all the consequences before acting. He could tell from the expression on her face that she was having second thoughts about what she’d done. He laughed and tossed the wash cloth back to the side of the tub, and turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

She came out a few minutes later fully dressed and found him standing right outside the door. She hadn’t noticed in the bathroom given the shock from him walking in, but could tell now, that there was some substance that was in his hair and covering his shoulders and back. She realized he was standing there waiting for her to come out because he needed to take a shower and get whatever he was covered in off. He couldn’t even sit somewhere and wait for her, or it likely would have gotten on the bed or the furniture.

“What on earth happened to you, and what’s that smell?” She said as she caught a whiff of him. 

He let out a chuckle. “As we were getting the fishing gear out, a bag of organic fertilizer fell off a shelf and broke on my shoulders.” He said with an apologetic smile, as he passed her and went into the bathroom. He turned and gave her a mischievous look again, “I’ll leave the door unlocked in case you decide you feel like any retribution,” shooting her a wink as he closed the door.

The following day was Christmas Eve and as Kate woke up, she glanced at the clock, realizing it was quite a bit later than she’d woken up all the other mornings. She laid there in bed struggling to fully wake up when she realized it was strangely quiet in the cottage and she didn’t smell the scent of coffee that had greeted her every other morning. She climbed out of bed and wandered out to see if perhaps Aidan had actually slept in for a change. She could immediately tell after reaching the bedroom door that he wasn’t in the cottage. His pillow and blanket were in a neat stack on the edge of the couch. As she glanced over to the kitchen, she saw a piece of paper on the table. 

It was a note from Aidan apologizing that he didn’t stay to make her breakfast, but that he had wanted a little time alone and was going off to do some salmon fishing. He also wrote that Mrs. Kelly had offered to make her breakfast and that Kate should call up to the main house once she was awake. Kate was a little surprised by him taking off like that, only because he hadn’t mentioned anything the night before to her, while he obviously must have let the Kelly’s know. Kate decided to take a quick shower, and then she called up to the main house.

Shortly after she called, there was a knock on the cottage door. Mrs. Kelly had brought her a thermos of coffee and some freshly baked blueberry muffins. She offered to cook up something else for her if she would like. Kate said the muffins were plenty for her and thanked her for her kindness. Mrs. Kelly had also brought in a beautiful bouquet of different varieties of white flowers in a crystal vase. The white petals against the dark green foliage had such a festive look to it, and she’d even tied a beautiful silvery white bow around the vase. 

“I know Aidan didn’t want any Christmas decorations, but I thought a lovely white floral bouquet might brighten the day a little,” she said with a smile, as she set it on a table near the fireplace.

Kate hadn’t really thought about it until now, how the main house was actually quite nicely decorated for Christmas with a beautiful tree and lots of other festive trimmings. She hadn’t stopped to consider that Aidan had requested that the cottage wasn’t decorated. It wasn’t terribly surprising given his other comments about Christmas, but it still seemed a bit peculiar to her that he had gone so far as to make the request.

Mrs. Kelly said that they were planning to spend Christmas Eve with some dear friends of theirs on the island, so they’d be gone until later in the evening. But if there was anything she needed, to be sure to call and let them know. Kate thanked her for everything as she left and started to wonder how long Aidan was actually going to be gone. She also started to wonder what the Kelly’s might know that she didn’t, but certainly wasn’t going to pry into whatever it was he hadn’t been willing to share with her.

Kate spent most of the day reading and took a long walk down on the beach. She’d left a note for him in the cottage so he knew where she was if he returned while she was out. She’d thought about calling his cell phone a couple times during the day, but the fact that he’d specifically written that he had wanted a little time alone kept her from calling. Lunch time came around and there was still no sign of him, so she made herself a sandwich and sat at the table eating alone. She was actually surprised how odd it felt to be there all alone. She almost hated to admit how much she was enjoying spending time with him, and his absence was having a much bigger impact on her than she expected.

She was sitting in one of the big chairs next to the couch, when she heard footsteps on the porch and the door opened. She looked up from her book and smiled at him as he walked in. He smiled back, but she noticed he was lacking some of the usual sparkle in his gaze. He was carrying a plastic bag in his hand as he headed for the kitchen.

“Any luck fishing?” She asked as he headed through the room. 

He replied that he had caught a nice salmon and had it cleaned and filleted down at the docks and was planning to cook some of it for dinner if that was OK with her. She said it sounded wonderful and followed him in to the kitchen to see if he wanted any help. Not so much that she had any idea what she would be able to do to help, but more to figure out what might be going on with him.

His mood didn’t really change as he prepared dinner. He was unusually quiet and focused on preparing the food and didn’t really say more than a few words to her. He had her help chop up a few things and stir a sauce, but other than those brief instructions, he barely said any thing else. As she finished her dinner, she looked at him sitting across the table from her, staring down at his plate. It was as if a completely different person had switched places with the man she’d spent the last few days with.

“The salmon was delicious” she said, hoping to break the unbearable silence. He briefly looked up from his plate and smiled a bit as he reached for his drink. 

“Sorry, what was that?” he asked, obviously very lost in some far away thoughts. 

“Nothing really,” Kate replied, “just complimenting your extraordinary culinary skills again”. She was thinking he’d either enjoy a compliment, or take it as a challenge to figure out if she was joking, but neither response followed. 

His expression reminded her of back at the pub when she’d asked him about going back to Ireland and when Sean had first asked him about his plans for the Christmas holiday. Those were the only times she could think of when she’d seen him without that sparkle that seemed to radiate from his blue eyes. Even when he’d been frustrated with her, he hadn’t looked as full of despair as he did now.

“Glad you enjoyed it”, was all he said as his eyes shifted back to his plate, his fork pushing around the remainder of the salmon he’d barely touched. 

Whatever had caused him to dislike Christmas was certainly percolating around in that brain of his today. Maybe getting his mind on something else would help since he didn’t really seem interested in finishing his meal.

“It’s getting a bit chilly in here,” Kate commented, “I’ll take care of the dishes if you wouldn’t mind making a fire for us? Unless you’re not finished torturing that piece of fish on your plate?” 

A weak little smile flashed across his face for a moment, reassuring her that somewhere in there was still a little bit of the man she’d been getting to know. “Aye, that sounds like a great idea”, was all he responded as he stood from the table and headed toward the front of the cottage. 

She heard the front door open and felt a slight chill reach her in the kitchen as he’d gone out to the front porch to bring in some wood. She hoped getting some fresh air and having a task to do would help bring him back from whatever sad place he’d gone off to. She wondered more about what could have happened that had such a traumatic impact on him as she cleared the table and rinsed the dishes. She heard the door open and close again, along with it another small blast of the chilly winter air. She could then hear him in the living room arranging logs and getting the fire started. It took her a few minutes to finish cleaning things up. She refilled their drinks from dinner and headed toward the living room to see if his mood had changed.

His back was toward her as she entered the room. He was sitting on the couch that faced the fireplace, but his gaze was in a slightly different direction. He seemed to be lost in thought again, and the sadness from the kitchen had come back, and it seemed even more intense than before. She followed his gaze and realized he was staring at the vase of flowers that Mrs. Kelly had dropped off earlier in the day. She slowly approached the couch and set his drink on the table in front of him and sat down several inches from him, setting hers on the table in front of her. He broke his gaze on the flowers and looked down at the drink, but still didn’t look in her direction.

She studied his face as he stared down at the glass. She felt like she rarely had the chance to just look at him, for any other time she was usually trying to avoid his gaze and not be caught staring at him. His hand came up to his temples and he rubbed slightly, like he was trying to push something out of his mind or relieve the pain he was feeling. She decided to try to see if she could get him to open up and talk to her.

“A wise person once told me that sometimes the best cure for what troubles you is to share it with another soul,” she said, repeating what he’d said to her back when they had talked about Jackson at Thanksgiving. 

“Sounds like he was a bloody idiot”, Aidan said, sighing as he leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes. She thought she saw a slight grin for a moment though before the serious expression returned.

She sat quietly, debating whether or not to ask more. She’d decided she’d better just leave it alone though, when his almost trembling voice broke the silence. His eyes had opened and he was staring at the flames in the fire.

“Three years ago I was doing a play in London. I’d been dating a woman that I was madly in love with. We’d been together for several years, but she’d stayed in Ireland while I was working in London, since that’s where her job was.” He hesitated for a moment and let out a heavy sigh. “I had decided to surprise her with a marriage proposal over Christmas. I had lied to her and told her that I wouldn’t be able to make it home for Christmas, but instead had planned to secretly come home and surprise her.” 

Kate’s heart felt tight in her chest as she could envision how this story likely ended. 

“I was able to get a flight back on Christmas Eve and arrived at our apartment with a bouquet of white roses and a bottle of champagne“.

Kate glanced over at the vase of flowers and saw several white roses tucked in among the other varieties of flowers. How sadly ironic that what she had thought was a beautiful bouquet of flowers when Mrs. Kelly had left them this morning, would turn out to be such a horrible reminder for him.

She thought she heard his voice crack a bit and he cleared his throat and continued. “To my surprise, she was in our bed with another man. I guess they’d been having an affair for a while, and she hadn’t known how to tell me since I was away working and didn’t want to get into it over the phone.” 

He stopped again and sat back up to reach for his drink. Leaning forward on the couch he took a drink and set the glass back down, his arms resting on his knees, his posture pensive. 

She finally understood the connection she’d felt with him sometimes. That look she’d noticed on his face that seemed so familiar, yet she wasn’t sure why. How when she had told him about Jackson, he seemed to understand her pain, without actually saying he’d experienced something similar. There had always been something there that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Some flicker in his eyes that on those rare occasions she had caught a glimpse of, but could never figure out what it was. Maybe they were more alike than she had ever wanted to admit. 

“So that’s why I no longer look forward to Christmas. I was hoping after a year or so, I’d be past it. If it had been some random day of the year, maybe it would be easier, but I get a bloody holiday to remind me of how my heart was shattered into pieces.” He sighed and then spoke again. “I’m sorry Kate. I shouldn’t have asked you to come along knowing I’d likely ruin the holiday for you with my horrible mood.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kate said softly back. “Why didn’t you tell me about this when I told you about Jackson?”

He sat up a bit straighter now, taking another drink and setting the glass back on the table. “I don’t know. I guess I thought it would sound insincere or that I was minimizing the pain you felt by saying something similar had happened to me.” He still wouldn’t look at her, gazing at the flames dancing in the fireplace. “Or maybe a part of me was really hoping I was past it, that this Christmas would be different and I could finally let it go.” He let out a deep sigh and kept his gaze on the flames.

She watched his face for a few minutes and then felt something stirring inside her. She knew how badly she felt when she found out the truth about Jackson. How hard that was to get over and made her put up so many walls so she wouldn’t be hurt again. But there was some sort of connection she felt with Aidan, since the first day that they had met, and it only felt stronger now. She just wished he wasn’t an actor, but still, tonight he was just a man who could really use a friend and something else to associate with Christmas. 

“I’m really sorry” She said as she put her hand gently on his knee. He finally turned to look at her. She could see the immense amount of sadness and pain in his eyes. Those eyes, that were usually sparkling blue and full of life, were cloudy and gray. 

“I know there’s nothing I can do to change the past,” she said softly, “but maybe we could make a new Christmas memory to replace it.”

A look of slight confusion flashed across his face. She moved her hand from his knee and placed it tenderly on his cheek, then slowly moved closer and kissed him. He kissed her gently back, very similar to the first kiss at the farm, but something was different. She wasn’t sure if it was his vulnerability, or the fact that he hadn’t been completely honest about who he was when they met and shared their first kiss. Maybe it was a combination of both things that made this kiss feel different. He moved his hand up to her cheek and rubbed gently across her cheek bone with his thumb as he kissed her. After a moment of kissing they stopped with their faces still very close. 

“Thanks Kate”, he said and looked into her soothing green eyes. A little bit of the spark that she was used to seeing had returned to his eyes, though there was still a lot of sadness there too. Always the gentleman, not one to take advantage of her kindness, he took her hand with his and rested it back next to them on the couch. He kept a gentle hold on her hand as he turned to watch the fireplace again. 

But Kate had more in mind than just a kiss. Without giving it another thought and second guessing her decision, she quickly moved so that she was straddling his lap and putting both her hands gently on the sides of his face, she kissed him again. His hands came up to rest on hers as he kissed her back. But then he stopped, tipping his chin down away from her mouth. Obviously very caught off guard by what had just happened and realizing that she had more in mind than just a kiss. 

“Kate, are you sure about this?” He said in almost a whisper, still resting his forehead against hers.

“Right now, at this moment in time, yes, I’m very sure of this. But I can’t make you any promises beyond tonight. If that’s not enough for you, then I understand” she said looking into his eyes.

He hesitated for a second getting lost in her gaze, then a small smile crept across his lips and he softly said “no that’s perfect, for now” and moved his hands to gently cradle her head, fingers getting lost in her soft fiery curls. Leaning in and kissing her again.

What started as soft gentle kisses quickly became more passionate as those months of avoiding their attraction to each other came crashing down on them both. Their breathless gasps for air as their kissing became more intense drowned out the crackle of the fire. Kate lifted her shirt over her head and then reached down and removed his as well. He placed open mouthed kisses down her neck and across her collar bone, working his way down her chest. His hands gently caressed her back and shoulders and then he moved them down to grab her hips and pull her even closer to him. Enjoying the warmth and taste of her skin as he moved his lips along her body, the gentle scent of lilies lingering in the air around her. Kate’s hands were quickly moving down to undo his jeans. 

He was starting to feel overcome by the desire he was feeling, but then he intentionally slowed down. He’d wanted this so badly since the day he met her and if there was only tonight, then he wanted to make it last as long as possible. He wanted to relish in every gasp and moan she made as his lips kissed her skin, as his fingers explored her body. He slowly grabbed her hands and moved them up to his shoulders. Moving his own hands back up to get lost again in her fiery curls, gently cradling her head and kissing her passionately on her lips again. Then he started to move his lips back down her neck. She seemed to understand what he was thinking and slowed down as well to enjoy the moment. Falling in synch with the pace he was setting for them. 

Her nights with Danny were generally rushed, fueled by too much alcohol, and certainly nothing like this. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to actually go slow and enjoy the sensations spreading throughout her body. She liked the slight burn that she felt as his stubble brushed against her skin. The shivers his lips were sending throughout her body as his mouth moved over her. The heat he was creating on every inch of her body. She gently nibbled at his ear and returned his kisses with her own down his neck and across his shoulders. She found herself becoming consumed by the desire she felt coursing through her body. 

He finally removed her black lace bra and continued planting passionate kisses on every inch of her skin that was now exposed. He put his hands back on her hips, pulling them close to him again and went back to exploring her mouth with his, their tongues and teeth colliding. He stood up and carried her to the bedroom, finally ready to undress the rest of her. He was still not ready to lose complete control and risk this ending too soon, so intentionally kept his jeans on for a while longer. He feared that under her touch he wouldn’t be able to contain himself and wasn’t ready for this to end.

She didn’t protest as it was evident that she was enjoying every moment of him doing everything possible with his lips, tongue and fingers to push her over the edge. After she rode out her first wave of pleasure, he finally let her undo his jeans, but he still did his best to make this moment between them last as long as possible. Her touch and the feel of her body against his drove him mad with desire. It was even more amazing being with her than he could have ever imagined. They connected in ways he hadn’t been able to with any woman in a long time. 

When he finally gave in and lost control, she also came undone again. They collapsed into a pile of tangled limbs and panting bodies on the bed. She repositioned herself so that she could lay her head on his chest. Lying against him, she could hear his heart was still pounding fast in his chest. She could feel his breath on her forehead as she watched his chest rising and falling under her hand that she had rested there. A few moments had passed of only the sound of their gradually slowing breathing. She hated to admit to herself how comfortable this was. How safe and content she felt being with him. But she still didn’t know if she’d be able to completely break down those walls she created to protect herself from getting hurt again.

“I’d better go and check on the fire before I fall asleep and we wake up with frozen fingers and toes.” He finally said softly. He sat up and reached for his flannel pajama bottoms that were on a chair near the bed. He noticed Kate shiver as he’d moved away from her. He grabbed the top to the pajamas, “I’d be happy to share if you’re chilled,” he said holding out the flannel top.

She smiled and reached out her hand to take it. As she was finishing the buttons, he leaned back on the bed, his face close enough that she could feel his breath as he spoke. He slowly reached up and pushed one of her soft red curls behind her ear. “I didn’t want to make any assumptions, so wanted to ask if you’d prefer I sleep out on the couch so you don’t have to feel awkward about this in the morning.”

She smiled up at him and replied in a soft voice, “I’d really like you to stay.” 

He gently kissed her forehead and smiled before heading out to put more wood on the fire and turn out the lights they’d left on. She heard the clink of the glasses as he returned them to the kitchen, and his bare feet walking on the hard wood floors. By the time he returned, she had almost fallen asleep, exhausted from their time together. He carefully climbed into bed not wanting to disturb her. She rolled over and wrapped her arm around him and snuggled her face against his chest. He returned her embrace and let out a deep sigh as he kissed her forehead again. Even if it was just for tonight, it was exactly where they both wanted to be.

Kate didn’t remember feeling him getting out of bed, but when she woke up and reached out her arm, she realized she was the only one still there. She laid there for a moment and then could smell coffee and something else coming from the kitchen. It was a familiar smell, but in her groggy morning state, she couldn’t quite place it over the aroma of the coffee. A moment later she heard his bare feet on the wood floor coming back in to the bedroom. She could smell the aroma of the coffee even stronger now. He sat back on the edge of the bed with two cups of coffee in his hands. She smiled up at him and propped herself up against the pillows and backboard. 

“Thanks,” she said warmly as he handed her one of the cups. 

“I made breakfast too. I thought about serving you breakfast in bed, but thought that might be a bit much.” He said with a little smile.

“Well it is Christmas morning.” She replied with a feisty grin. “I think I’ve been good enough to deserve breakfast in bed.”

His smile grew and he flashed her one of his winks as he hopped off the bed and headed out the door. She smiled and took a drink of the coffee. She could hear plates clinking around in the other room and then a few minutes later he was in the room again. He carried over a bed tray and placed it in front of her.

“Where did you find a serving tray?” She asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

“It was in one of the larger kitchen cabinets. I saw it when I was searching for cookware when we first arrived.” He replied.

“So you could have served me breakfast in bed this whole time and you just told me of this now!” She teased him.

He only smiled back at her. She looked at the plate and realized he had made Ellie’s special French Toast for her. “That was so thoughtful of you,” she said, her voice filled with the warmth of her heartfelt appreciation.

He went over to his bag that was near one of the nightstands before he sat back on the bed. She hadn’t been able to see what he was doing, but once he sat down next to her, he handed her a small wrapped box. Her expression change to confusion as she took it from him.

“Sorry,” he said noticing her expression, “it’s from Sarah. She asked if I would give it to you on Christmas.”

She smiled again and began to open the small card that was attached. Never give up on something you cherish, important things never stay lost for long. Love Sarah.

She was a bit puzzled about what that meant, until she opened the box. Aidan noticed tears starting to fall down her cheeks. He leaned closer and looked at the beautiful locket that she was slowly lifting out of the box. “It’s beautiful,” he said softly.

She swallowed and wiped the tears away. “It’s the one that my dad bought for my mom when they met in Ireland,” she said as she opened the heart shaped silver locket. There was a picture of a man and a woman on one side and a picture of the same woman with a little girl with red curls on the other side. “I thought I’d lost it when I moved to LA. I never thought I’d see it again.”

Aidan put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned toward him as she sat looking at the pictures in the locket. “Your mom was very beautiful and your parents look like they loved each other very much.” He said as he gently kissed the top of her head.

She took a deep breath and sat up straight again. “Thank you for bringing it along for me.”

“Of course, it was the least I could do given you agreed to come and spend the week with me rather than your family,” shifting away from her a bit in reaction to her change in posture. 

“The French toast smells delicious,” she said, in an attempt to move past the slight awkwardness she was beginning to feel. “Are you having some as well? I feel silly sitting here in bed eating it alone.”

He gave her a somewhat apologetic smile. “Sadly there was only one serving tray.”

“Well it is Christmas,” She replied playfully, “We could share.”

“I’ll grab another plate and fork and be right back,” he said, jumping from the bed and heading out the door again.

Kate let out a deep sigh as he left the room. She could completely get use to this every day if she’d only let her self take a chance again. He really was nothing like Jackson, and even if he was an actor, there was so much more to him than that.

He returned a moment later with another plate of French Toast and silver ware. He sat it on the edge of the tray, but before sitting back on the bed, he reached for something else in his baq. He pulled out another small wrapped gift, this one was larger than the first one. He handed it to her as he sat back down on the bed. 

She gave him a look that was a combination of being puzzled but curious. “How many presents do you have hidden in that bag of yours?” she replied in a teasing tone. He only smiled back in response. “OK, who’s this one from?”

“It was just to thank you for coming along on the trip with me.” Aidan replied with a slight bit of nervousness to his voice.

Her expression changed to one of confusion again and she started to ramble, “No, you shouldn’t have gotten me anything. I didn’t get you anything. You really shouldn’t have.”

“It’s nothing really. I just saw it in a shop in town and it reminded me of you and I thought it would be a nice souvenir of visiting the island. That’s all. It’s really not a big deal Kate,” He tried to assure her. 

She reluctantly took the box from his hand and he casually took a bite of French toast, trying to make it seem like it really wasn’t a big deal and hoping it might lighten the mood to not stare intently at her as she opened it. She opened the box and found a beautiful crystal sailboat inside.

“It’s absolutely beautiful.” She said as she took it out of the box and watched it sparkle in the sunlight filling the room. “Thank you Aidan.” She said with a smile on her face. She leaned closer to him and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek and whispered, “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.” He said smiling back at her. 

When they were done eating, he said he’d take the dishes if she wanted to use the shower first. He was sitting on the bed when she came out of the bathroom. She shot him a smile and threw her towel at him. He gave her wicked grin and warned her that she ought to know not to mess with him and towels again. 

As he stood up off the bed to take his turn in the bathroom he stopped right in front of her and put his hand on her cheek. Her wet red curls falling softly against the back of his hand. He smiled at her for a moment and rubbed his thumb along her cheek before he spoke, “Kate, you know I want more than just a single night with you, and it’s OK with me if that’s all it was, but I don’t know how to just turn those feelings off.” He bit his lip and then licked it before continuing, “I’ve never been one of those guys before, so I don’t know what you expect me to do or not do.” He hesitated again as she kept staring into his eyes. “Just... please tell me if you want… if you want less… or more. I’m just hopelessly lost right now and so afraid of doing the wrong thing. I swear I’m not trying to push you or anything, but I just wanted you to know that I really am completely unsure of what I should do now.”

She sighed and looked at him tenderly. Then put her hand on top of his and tipped her head up and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. She realized at that moment that she didn’t really know how to do that either. Her trysts with Danny had been easy since he always bolted for the door when he woke up, and there really hadn’t been anyone else after Jackson that was more than a few dates and occasional one night stands. “Honestly,” she said softly, “I don’t really know either, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” 

He smiled back and kissed her forehead. He wrapped his arms around her and stood there for a minute, his head resting against her damp curls. She wrapped her arms around his waist too and listened to the soothing sound of his heart beating. He kissed her forehead again and then smiled and walked by her to the bathroom.

Kate was adamant to do her best to not let things turn awkward. She was out on the couch reading a book when he came out of the bedroom, his hair still slightly wet from the shower. He’d put on a pair of jeans and a light colored Henley shirt, the buttons mostly undone so that she could see the hair dusting across his chest. He smiled at her and went over and looked out the window down to the beach and the water. She glanced up and watched him until he turned back around. He asked if she was warm enough or if she wanted him to get the fire going as it had gone out again. He worked on that for a little while, as she kept reading and watching him. 

When he got it going he sat in the big chair next to the couch and watched the flames. She had wondered if at some point he would start thinking about what had previously happened to him at Christmas again. She realized then she didn’t even know what her name had been, but that was probably just as well.

“Hey,” she finally said. “You brought your guitar along, and I haven’t even heard you play it. Do you feel like playing something for me?”

A huge grin spread across his face, and he said he’d love to do that, and went into the bedroom to retrieve it. He sat on the opposite end of the couch when he returned and strummed it a few times and then stopped.

He gave her a slightly concerned look, then said “This is just a song I’ve been working on learning to play, ok? Just don’t… don’t take it personally.” 

She wasn’t quite sure what that meant, and gave him a confused smile back and agreed a little tentatively.

He looked at her for a minute longer, then looked down at the guitar and started to play. Keeping his eyes on the guitar rather than looking up at her again as he played. She recognized the chords that he started with, but couldn’t place it at first. Then as he began to sing, she remembered it was a song that Shelly would sometimes play at work. She was memorized by his voice as he sang along while he played. She’d heard the words so many times at the pub, but hadn’t really thought about them until she was listening to him sing.

You never know when you're gonna meet someone  
And your whole wide world in a moment comes undone  
You're just walking around and suddenly  
Everything that you thought that you knew about love is gone

You find out it's all been wrong  
And all my scars don't seem to matter anymore  
Cause they led me here to you

I know that its gonna take some time  
I've got to admit that the thought has crossed my mind  
This might end up like it should  
And I'm gonna say what I need to say  
And hope to god that it don't scare you away  
Don't wanna be misunderstood  
But I'm starting to believe that this could be the start of something good

… Cause I don't know where it's going  
There's a part of me that loves not knowing  
Just don't let it end before we begin…

When he finished he slowly tipped his head up to the point that he could just see her face, a slightly worried look on his brow. He noticed she wasn’t smiling but just staring at him. “Perhaps I need to work on that more before I add musical entertainer to my list of qualifications again.” He said a little unsure of what she was thinking.

“No, no…” she stammered, “It was… it was really perfect.” She wasn’t expecting to have a hard time talking but was totally caught off guard by the emotions raging through her. He had always looked handsome, but watching him play and sing to her, with his still damp hair from his shower, had completely taken her breath away. And the lyrics, she understood the warning and wasn’t sure she believed him when he had said it was “just” a song. 

He couldn’t help reacting as he heard the tone of her voice. He had already started to set his guitar down on the table before she spoke and with his hands free again, he quickly closed the distance between them. While they had initially started out slowly the night before, his adrenaline was racing much too fast to have any self control now. She was also so overcome with feelings after his musical performance, that she eagerly returned his advance with the same intensity. 

After a moment though, she stopped and pulled her head away from him. For a moment a concerned look flashed across Aidan’s face, but then he noticed she had a mischievous grin spreading across her lips. She stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the bedroom. Once inside, she leaned up and kissed him, as she shuffled their bodies so his back was toward the bed. She took off her shirt, and as he was pulling his over his head, she quickly pulled down his jeans and pushed him backwards on to the bed.

She shot him a mischievous look again and seductively whispered “my turn,” as she leaned over him. She enjoyed hearing his moans and grunts and occasionally him whispering her name, as she pleasured him with her tongue, lips and fingers. His hands getting lost in her curls and his hips moving in rhythm with her. As she sensed he was getting close to losing control, she slowed down, removing her own pants and underwear then climbed on top of him. Aidan pulled himself up so he could kiss her again tracing the edges of the red lace bra she was still wearing with his lips before finally reaching up and removing it as well. His fingers digging into her hips, pulling her close, not wanting this to ever end.

He was completely overtaken by desire and eventually lost control, moments later feeling her also follow him over the edge. His back crashed onto the bed, with her tumbling, still trembling, on top of him. They stayed like that for quite a while panting and trying to catch their breath again. He nuzzled his head into her hair and wrapped his arms protectively around her. Her face resting on his chest one hand over his heart and the other still on his hip.

She finally let out a soft chuckle before she spoke in a soft teasing tone, “I think I’d better confiscate that guitar for the rest of our trip.”

He let out a surprised laugh, “You know better than to try to take away my fun.” Kissing her forehead and squeezing her tighter.

They laid there like that for quite some time, almost as though neither of them wanted to move, to lose that closeness that they’d found. He finally broke the silence, “The Kelly’s invited us to join them this afternoon for their Christmas dinner if you’re interested.” He hesitated for a moment then continued, “When they first mentioned it, I wasn’t sure what we’d be doing today, so hadn’t given them an answer.”

She could of course see through him and knew the reason he hadn’t given them an answer was he wasn’t sure how he’d be feeling on Christmas day. It warmed her heart to know that he seemed to be moving past the pain and was willing to go with her now. “That sounds wonderful,” she replied gently rubbing his chest with her hand. She finally pushed herself up on her elbows so she could look into his eyes. He smiled intently at her and brushed a few of the curls that had fallen toward him back behind her ear. 

“I was thinking I should probably take another shower before we go,” she said softly. “Too bad you never gave me that lesson on locking the door.” She winked at him seductively and headed toward the bathroom. He smiled and exhaled as he heard the shower start. Moments later he was stepping into the shower behind her brushing damp red curls off her shoulder to kiss it. She was thankful later that the hot water didn’t run out at the cottage as soon as it would have at her apartment.

She was still in the bathroom drying her hair and putting on some make-up as he’d gotten dressed in the bedroom. She had brought a couple of nice dresses along with her in case they went anywhere fancy and she decided today was a perfect day to wear one. As she went out to retrieve her favorite black dress from the closet, she noticed he wasn’t in the bedroom any longer. 

She finished dressing and went out to see him in the living room. They hadn’t really discussed how formal they should dress, so she was quite surprised to see him in dress slacks and a shirt and tie. He always looked nice when he would stop in at the bar, but she’d never seen him looking this formal. She felt her heart race and breath catch for a moment when she saw him. 

The look on his face matched the reaction she’d had to him, when he saw her in the dress. She realized she also had never been dressed that formally before in front of him. She hadn’t really even dressed up for Thanksgiving since she normally would at least wander out to the barn to visit Shadow, even if she didn’t end up riding that day. 

“You’re absolutely stunning,” He finally said when he regained his composure.

She thanked him for the compliment and said he didn’t look too bad himself, giving him a little wink. She was holding a jacket in her hand to wear as they walked up to the main house and he took it from her and helped her put it on. He was standing behind her to let her put her arms though, and he kissed her on the spot where her neck met her shoulder as she lifted her hair so it wouldn’t get caught by the coat. The kiss was more than just a gentle quick one, and he slowly started moving up toward her ear before he stopped and took a step back. Allowing her to finish moving the coat all the way up her shoulders.

She thanked him as she turned back around. She could tell something was troubling him again, though she wasn’t sure why. She looked up at him with a soft smile. “What’s wrong Aidan?” she asked gently?

He hadn’t meant for her to notice that he was conflicted. “I’m sorry, it’s just, back to what I said this morning. Just promise me that if I push too far, that you’ll tell me to stop? I really don’t know how to show a lot of restraint in my feelings for you.”

She sighed and smiled at him. “I promise,” she said nodding at him reassuringly. It really did melt her heart how much concern he had about her feelings and wishes, and not overstepping any boundaries. 

He grabbed his jacket and opened the front door for them to leave. As he closed it behind them, she reached down and took his hand in hers and they headed down the steps toward the main house. She was walking as close to him as possible, enjoying the way he gently rubbed her hand with his fingers as they walked in silence up the path.


	9. Chapter 9

As they neared the front steps to the main house, Kate noticed Aidan’s pace slowed a little bit and felt his hand tense a little bit in her grasp. She could tell he had held his breath for a moment before he reached out to ring the doorbell. She put her other hand around their joined hands, causing him to look down at her for a moment. She thought she saw a flash of despair again in his expression before he saw her face smiling back at him. She felt the tenseness in his hand relax a bit and she leaned up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. He smiled back and then reached out to ring the doorbell. 

As they walked in side, she thought about how this was probably the first time he’d done anything for Christmas in the last three years. She’d already pieced together the fact that just going home, back to Ireland, seemed to be a bad reminder to him of that heartache, given he had the same reaction when that topic came up. 

Mrs. Kelly was delighted to see them. Kate caught her glance for a second at their joined hands, but she didn’t say anything and offered to take their coats. Aidan of course helped Kate take hers off and handed them both to Mrs. Kelly. Mrs. Kelly complimented them both on how lovely they looked and led them into the other room to introduce them to the other guests. The house felt even more festive with the buzz of conversation, the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen, and a faint sound of Christmas music playing in the background.

Kate took a seat on one of the couches while Aidan offered to get her a glass of wine. He returned a few minutes later with two glasses and handed one to her as he sat down next to her. He tucked his free hand around her waist, and rested it on her hip. She gave him a little smile and then scooted as close to him as possible, resting her free hand on his leg. They were listening to a story one of the other guests was telling, although Kate was mostly thinking about the way his fingers kept gently rubbing along her hip. 

A short while later Mrs. Kelly announced that dinner was ready. The other guests left the room first heading for the dining room, while Kate and Aidan trailed a bit behind. His lust filled eyes looked down at her as they stopped in front of the Christmas tree. She could see little sparkles from the lights on the tree twinkle in the reflection in his eyes. He smiled down at her and brought his hand up toward her neck. He’d noticed she was wearing both the locket and the heart pendant that he’d bought for her. 

“They fit very nicely together,” he said softly as he slowly traced his fingers from one to the other. The chains were different lengths and they really did work well together. The v-shaped neckline of her dress accentuated them quite well too. The touch of his fingers along her chest sent shivers through her body. She cursed his charming perfection to herself as she smiled back at him. She finally exhaled the breath she had been holding as his fingers were moving across her skin. He gave her a seductive grin, as he could easily see what he was doing to her. He leaned down and kissed her, a bit more passionately than out on the porch. 

“We’d better go catch up with the others,” she said breathlessly with his mouth still close to hers, their noses still gently rubbing together. 

He smiled back and reluctantly replied, “If you insist.” He placed a quicker kiss on her forehead before turning to walk to the other room.

She took a deep breath to regain her composure before she followed a few steps behind him.

They stayed and visited for a while after dinner was over and by the time they were ready to leave, the overcast skies that had been getting darker as they walked over earlier had turned into quite a down pour of rain. Mr. Kelly retrieved a large umbrella for them to use to walk back to the Cottage. As they walked, Aidan kept his arm closely around her shoulder trying to keep her as dry and warm as possible, but the wind was blowing quite a bit making it nearly impossible to keep dry even under the umbrella.

They laughed for a moment at each other as they entered the cabin and saw how wet they were. He took her coat and his and hung them near the door to dry. He pulled something out of his pocket and turned to face her holding it behind his back.

“What are you hiding,” she asked suspiciously as she saw a trace of mischief flash across his face.

“Something I ‘borrowed’ from the main house,” He said as he walked closer, the mischievous look growing more evident as he stopped in front of her.

She raised her eyebrow at him, not quite sure what he was up to. She was quite surprised when his hand came around and he put his arm up, holding a piece of mistletoe above her head.   
“You stole mistletoe from the house?” she said with a small laugh in her voice.

“Well I wanted to be sure I had a good excuse to keep kissing you, since I don’t want to get my guitar taken away.”

She laughed again as his wet face moved closer to hers and their lips met. She kissed him back for a minute, then put her hands on his chest and slowly pushed him away. 

“While I’m sure we could come up with other ways to keep warm, perhaps you should get the fire going again,” she said giving him a teasing look. 

A playful pout crossed his lips, “I think I vote for the ‘other ways’.” He said stepping closer to her again, and dropping his arm, so he could put them both around her waist and pull her closer to him. Angling his head, so that he could kiss her where her shoulder and neck met, her wet curls brushing up against his wet face.

She couldn’t help but let out a moan and tip her head back as he worked his way up her neck. She reached her arms up and ran them through his wet hair. One of his hands he ran along her bare arm, and then he noticed how cold her skin was, covered in little goose bumps.

He sighed and stopped kissing her neck. “You’re right, I’d better get the fire going so you don’t catch cold.” He said with a little sadness in his voice.

She smiled at him and said she was going to go and put on something drier. She noticed his pillow and blanket were still on the couch from the day before. She walked over and picked them up, “I should put these away too,” she said with a seductive grin. As she reached the bedroom door, she turned back and with a little wink added, “don’t forget to bring in that mistletoe once the fire’s going.”

When she got in the bedroom, she sighed a bit. She wished now that she’d brought along something more seductive to wear. She really hadn’t expected to let this happen when she’d left home and didn’t pack anything like that at all. She decided his flannel pajama top might do the trick, and slipped into that after she towel dried off her wet locks. 

She could hear the crackle from the fire as she climbed on to the bed to wait for him. She sat with her legs tucked under her, near the edge of the bed. It wasn’t long before she heard his feet nearing the door on the wood floors. He stopped at the doorway and she saw his expression change immediately from wondering what she might be up to, to one of pure lust. His eyes growing darker as his pupils adjusted to the dimmer light in the bedroom. 

She heard him clear his throat, trying to regain some composure, as it was clear he was quite aroused by the sight of her. She really couldn’t help noticing that, even from across the room, as the light fabric of his dress slacks didn’t give him any way to hide it. 

“I think you’ve stolen my shirt, Lass,” He finally said with a seductive grin as he walked toward the bed.

She smiled back and replied, “Well then I guess you’ll just need to take it back.” Her eyebrows rising up as she spoke. “But you’d better take those wet clothes off though before you try,” she added with a soft laugh.

He quickly shed his wet clothing and carefully tackled her on the bed. She couldn’t help but laugh as he grabbed her, his lips quickly meeting hers, as his fingers swiftly started working on the buttons of the shirt. 

This time was more playful than the other times had been. She had fun with the mistletoe and picking spots that he had to kiss, before he finally snatched it back and made her do the same in return. She had fun finding places where he actually seemed ticklish when she gently bit at his skin and ran her fingers in circles along it. At one point he threatened to grab his tie and use it on her if she continued looking for all his ticklish spots. In the end though, it was her who secretly grabbed it off the floor when he hadn’t expected it and playfully wrapped it around one of his wrists before getting sidetracked by other things he was doing to her body. 

When they were done, he sat up against the headboard and pulled her close to him. His look was a bit serious again, though he still had that afterglow of thoroughly enjoying her body on his face.

“Thank you Kate,” he said softly, looking intently into her eyes. “No matter what the future brings for us, I’ll always remember this incredible time with you. I can’t even begin to express how much it’s meant to me. Thank you for giving me a wonderful new Christmas memory.”

She wasn’t quite sure what to say. She was so touched by so many little things today, even the fact that he’d taken the mistletoe from the main house. She knew it was a big step for him toward hopefully being able to finally let go of some of the pain associated with the day. She still wasn’t sure where they were headed with all of this. She did know things would be different when they got back. He’d be busy filming again, and the reality of their lives at home would sink back in. For now though she just really wanted to enjoy the last couple of days with him that they had on the island together. She could let go of some of that anxiety at least while they were still here. 

Since she couldn’t think of something fitting to say in return, she only smiled tenderly at him and leaned up to kiss him. She did manage to whisper “Merry Christmas” to him as their lips parted for a moment.

In the morning, she felt him moving around, as she’d fallen asleep with her head on his chest, one leg wrapped around his and one arm wrapped over his waist, her hand resting on his hip. She looked up at him with her sleepy eyes, and a small crease in her brow. He apologized for waking her and said he was going to go make them some coffee. She tightened her hold on him, and whispered for him to stay a little longer. She didn’t want to lose the comfort of his warm body just yet. She’d choose that over coffee any day. He let out a little sigh of contentment, and gladly did as she requested. 

They laid there together listening to the sound of the rain on the windows. The cottage was a bit chilly now as the fire had gone out, but under the covers, their bodies were quite warm wrapped together. He nuzzled his face back into her hair, and actually dozed off again for a little while. It was so unusual for him to stay in bed so late. He couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t been up and doing things early in the day. He couldn’t imagine ever refusing Kate of anything she would ask of him. He was so madly in love with her, even though he knew actually saying that would likely scare her away. At least for now, he’d just keep showing her how much he loved her until the time felt right to actually say it to her. He guessed that she probably knew anyway. He still wasn’t exactly sure how she felt, although he speculated that she may have some of the same feelings even if she didn’t want to admit it. He couldn’t blame her knowing what she’d gone through, and even though his walls were never as high as the ones she had put up, he still could understand how she felt.

They eventually did get out of bed and he made her coffee and breakfast. The rain continued coming down, not looking as if it was going to stop at all that day. He’d suggested they could still go and explore more art galleries or shops, but Kate said she’d rather just enjoy spending a relaxing day in the cottage reading and enjoying the fire. 

Sometime after lunch as they were snuggled up on the couch again, her reading a book and Aidan mostly just watching her read, she sat up and set her book down and stretched out her arms. He asked if there was something he could get for her, and she shook her head. She’d been reading the same paragraph in her book over at least 6 times because she kept getting distracted by a thought that had popped into her head. She wasn’t sure if it was the rain, or the quiet of the cottage and the crackle of the fire, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the giant tub in the bathroom and being in it with him. She had told herself when they finally did make it out of bed that she probably should slow it down a bit with him. She was just so caught up with everything yesterday, and was trying to be a bit more reserved today. But once the thought of them in the tub had struck her, she just couldn’t get it out of her mind. 

She finally stood up, giving up on her being reserved plan, and leaned back over and kissed him. “Do you know what would be perfect on a cold stormy day like today?” She asked him as she stood there smiling, and his expression changed to one of puzzled curiosity. He shook his head back at her as he raised an eyebrow and ran his tongue over his lips. “A nice hot bubble bath,” she replied her mouth turning to a seductive grin. He smiled back and said that sounded like a wonderful idea. She started to walk toward the bedroom, and he stood up from the couch. She expected him to follow her, but instead he went into the kitchen. She stopped for a minute wondering if her invitation had been too vague. She was actually a bit annoyed now that he hadn’t noticed she wanted him to join her. 

Her annoyance got the better of her and she turned and continued into the bathroom. For a second she stared at the bathroom door handle and considered locking it, but she didn’t. She started filling the tub and getting undressed. She had just climbed into the tub when the door opened. He was carrying the serving tray again, this time with a bottle of wine, two glasses and a plate with chocolate covered strawberries. 

“You do like chocolate covered strawberries, don’t you?” He asked as he set the tray down and started to pour the wine.

She let out a happy sigh, and answered that of course she did. He set the tray where they could reach it from the tub and handed her a glass. Then he took off his clothes and slid in the tub behind her. She’d put her hair up again like before and he wrapped his arms around her waist while he kissed her shoulder and neck. She sighed and leaned back against his body. This wasn’t exactly the vision she’d had of them being in the tub together, but this was actually even better. 

He pulled one arm out and dried it off enough to grab a strawberry to feed her. She sipped on her wine as he planted more kisses on her neck and shoulders. He fed her a few more strawberries and drank some of his wine too. He started to massage her shoulders with both hands as he continued kissing her. Eventually moving his hands back down into the water, rubbing the outside of her thighs with his fingers. He heard her moan a bit and arch back farther toward him as one of his hands moved toward the inside of her thigh and higher up her leg. “Don’t spill your wine,” he whispered against her neck as he noticed her other hand grip tightly to the side of the tub. 

When they were finished in the tub, she had climbed out first and wrapped herself in one of the towels. She quickly grabbed the second towel before he could reach it and taunted him with it. “Perhaps a towel fight would be fairer today,” she teased as she dangled it toward him and then pulled it away before he could grab it. A devilish grin spread across his face and she knew she was in trouble, running out of the bathroom with the towel as he sprung out of the tub, covered in bubbles and tackled her on the bed.

“I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with,” he said mischievously as he grabbed the edge of her towel and yanked it hard enough to cause her to roll out of it, leaving her without one. He laughed at her, as she worked her lips into a pout and admitted defeat. 

He teasingly asked her if he should even bother to get dressed again or if she was planning some other escapade to get him naked again. She laughed at him and tried to act like she had no idea what he was talking about. He was the one who barged in on her private bath. He smiled at her and chuckled.  
The rains were letting up by dinner time, and Mr. Kelly had called from the main house to see if they wanted to go sailing one last time before they had to head home the following day. Kate was thrilled to go out one more time before they had to leave. The weather wasn’t quite as nice as the first day they had gone out, but it didn’t rain on them and the winds were perfect for sailing. Mr. Kelly had let Kate take it out from the dock by herself once he had it untied. Once they got out of the marina’s bay, they worked on putting the sails up to go out farther in the straight. Aidan was actually starting to get a bit better at it too, quickly picking up on it from their instructions on how to help them adjust the sails. He’d loved all the moments they’d shared together on the island, but seeing her out on the water was still where she seemed to be her happiest. 

As they sat next to each other, she rested her head on his shoulder and held on to his hand. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just sail wherever you wanted to visit, whenever you wanted to go,” she said softly to him, not even sure if he could hear her over the wind. 

He did hear her and replied, “Aye, with you Kate, I’d happily sail off into the sunset any day.”

She looked up and smiled at him, letting out a very content sigh. She put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer for a kiss. He noticed even her kisses were better out on the water, and given how amazing they were on land, that was really saying something.

When they got back to the dock, Aidan was talking to Mr. Kelly for a few minutes off to the side as they were tying the boat back up to the dock, and then came back to Kate with a smile on his face. She asked him what he was smiling about, he only said, “You’ll see”. 

She could tell he was up to something, but wasn’t sure what. She tried to get it out of him on the car ride back, but he wouldn’t even give her a clue. When they returned to the house, he said he’d meet her in the cottage in a little bit and needed to do something at the main house with the Kelly’s. She gave him a suspicious look, but finally headed back to the cottage. 

It was about 30 minutes before he returned to the cottage. She asked if he would tell her what was going on now. He looked like he was torn as to whether to tell her now or not. She thought with a little more persuasion, she might be able to finally get it out of him. She shot him a seductive glance reaching for the buttons of her shirt. She saw him lick his lips and then bite at his lower lip for a moment. 

“You’re such a feisty lass,” He said with a wink as he left her standing there and walked into the kitchen for a glass of water. 

“Come on, it’s killing me!” she called out from where she stood in the living room, realizing this was going to be harder than she thought.

“Fine, we’re going someplace special for dinner, and I’m not sure how late we’ll be.” He said watching her reaction. “So grab a few things in case we end up staying the night, OK?”

She was completely puzzled now. “Do I need to dress formally?” She asked fishing for some more information.

“No, how you’re dressed now will do.” He replied with a sly grin, as he could tell she still wasn’t sure where they were going. He walked past her into the bedroom and grabbed a few of his things and put them in his small travel bag. She had followed him in and was grabbing some things too, trying to come up with something else to ask that might give his secret away, but she really wasn’t sure what that might be.

“Will it be cold?” She finally asked. He considered it for a moment and said he wasn’t sure, so to grab something warm just in case. That gave her even less confidence in his idea now, but did as she was told.

He offered to carry her bag up and opened the front door for her. They headed out of the cottage and up to where the second car was parked. He went to the passenger side and opened it for her giving her a mischievous grin since he could tell she was still dieing to figure out what he was up to. 

As they drove, she did notice that they were headed back to the marina, but wasn’t sure what else was near that part of the island, so she didn’t quite know what he was up to yet. When they ended up back at the marina, she turned to him and raised her eyebrow at him in a questioning expression.

He decided he probably wasn’t going to be able to keep it a secret much longer and leaned closer to her and whispered, “How would you like to spend the night on the sailboat?” 

Her eyes opened wide and he could see the excitement in her face. She’d never actually slept on a boat before, but had always wanted to. He told her that Mr. Kelly said they could take it out a little ways into the bay and drop anchor, or just sleep on it tied to the dock. He was comfortable enough with Kate’s knowledge of how to operate it to take it out a little ways if they wanted though. He opened the trunk to get their bags, as well a large picnic basket he had put together at the Kelly’s for them to have for dinner.

They decided since the winds were still low and the bay was relatively calm, that they would take it out and drop anchor. Once they were out there, they sat on the deck for a little while, watching the other boats sailing back in for the night. The clouds had cleared and as it started getting darker, they had a wonderful view of the moon and some stars that were starting to appear in the sky. The boat rocked steadily and they could hear the waves crashing along the shoreline. They finally went back down to the cabin area to have some dinner. 

She thanked him several times for doing this for her. After they were done eating, she grabbed a heavy blanket and dragged him back up on the deck. She wrapped the blanket around them as they reclined on one of the bench seats and looked up at the stars. He nuzzled his face into her hair and kissed her head a few times. The scent of lilies still there even with the sea air surrounding them. He had his arms wrapped around her and she was leaning against him with her hands locked with his.

She started getting a bit emotional even thinking about how no one had ever done anything this special for her before. He thought he heard her make a noise that sounded like a sniffle, and asked if she was OK. She said it was just the breeze making her eyes water, but he didn’t quite believe her and held her closer. She wanted to hear his voice, so asked him to tell her about growing up in Ireland. She knew some of it already, but just wanted to lay there under the stars with the boat softly rocking and listen to the sound of his voice talking softly to her. He told her more about some of the trips his family had taken when he was little and some of the trouble he would get into. 

Eventually it was getting too cold even with the blanket and warmth of his body and he could feel her starting to shiver a little and suggest they go back into the cabin. She agreed and they went down below. He poured them each another glass of wine, and handed hers to him. The cabin wasn’t terribly large, but had a small galley and sitting area, a large bed, and a small bathroom.   
As he was handing her the glass, he asked if there was anything else she’d like to do on their last night on the island. He noticed her expression turn a bit sad as he said it, as she had tried not to think much about having to go back the next day. 

“Hey, would you like to dance?” he asked, not quite sure if she’d be interested in that, but he would take any chance for another opportunity to be close to her. She gave him a puzzled look at first, but he pulled his tablet out of his bag and put on some soft music and reached for her hand, setting the wine glasses back on the counter. He pulled her close and they stood there dancing to the music for quite a while. 

Dancing eventually led to slowly undressing each other and falling onto the bed. The soft rocking of the boat on the waves made it even better than he had imagined. That spark in her kiss earlier in the day on the boat only intensified as they enjoyed each other on their last night of being away from the rest of the world. Before they fell asleep on the boat, she gave him a very genuine smile and thanked him for everything. This was by far the best vacation she’d ever been on. She buried her face into his chest and sighed deeply before drifting off to sleep.

After returning the sailboat to the dock in the early morning hours, they headed back to the cottage to pack their things and return to the ferry with the Kelly’s. Aidan and Kate both thanked them for everything they had done for them and for their generosity. The Kelly’s said they were welcome to come back and stay with them again whenever they could find time. The sailing would be much better in the summer, so they should keep that in mind.

As they waited for the plane to take off, Aidan handed the medallion to Kate again. She smiled and took it flipping it around in her fingers. She held it in her hand farthest from him, and reached for his hand with the other. She thanked him again for bringing her along with him and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Soon they were landing back in Vancouver and the pilot was helping them get their bags out of the plane to take into the terminal.

They entered the terminal and headed toward the area where the driver would come and pick them up. They walked with their hands linked together, pulling their suitcases with their free hands, with Aidan’s guitar and travel bag over his shoulder. The driver had sent Aidan a text that his prior appointment was running a little late, but he wouldn’t be much longer. They reached the pickup area and set their luggage down against the wall. 

Aidan spotted a coffee kiosk across the terminal and asked Kate if she’d like a coffee while they waited. It had been chilly coming in from the plane and she said coffee sounded wonderful. She said she’d stay with their luggage while he went for it. Before walking off to get it, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. She smiled contently as his lips slowly moved away from hers.

“Back in a minute,” he said softly with a little wink as he turned and walked to the kiosk.

He ordered their coffees and had to wait a couple of minutes for them to be made. After he took them and paid, he turned and started walking back to Kate. As soon as he saw her face, he knew something was wrong. The smile that had been there as he walked to the kiosk had been replaced by a look of complete devastation. He quickened his pace back to her.

“Kate, what’s wrong?” He said as he got close enough that she could hear him through the crowd of people coming in and out of the terminal. 

She looked at him, then back past him for a moment, then back to him.

“I’m sorry, I just…” her voice trailed off and he saw complete panic in her face. “I have to go.”

He called out to her to wait, but she bolted out the door to where a line of cabs were waiting. He stood there with his hands holding the two cups, looking at the two large suitcases and his guitar and froze for a moment, not knowing what to do. She was already in a cab with the door closed before he could even attempt to follow her.

He glanced back into the terminal in the direction she had been looking. He saw a blonde lady that he recognized as a Canadian actress that worked on one of the shows that filmed in a studio near his. She had her arms around a man with dark blonde hair and that sophisticated look he saw so many times in LA. When Kate had said Jackson’s name at Thanksgiving, Aidan thought it sounded vaguely familiar from some event or dinner he’d attended. When he saw the man standing in the terminal, he realized he had met him before. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he grabbed it hoping it was Kate. It was the driver saying he would be there in just a couple more minutes. Aidan tried calling Kate’s phone, but it only went to voice mail, so he tried a text instead sending, “Are you OK?” 

He waited what seemed like forever for a reply, though it was likely only a minute or two later. “yes. sorry. will be at my car” finally came back from her. 

She sat in the back of the cab with tears streaming down her face. Fighting to hold in the sobs that were trying desperately to escape. Thinking back to what had happened only minutes before. How happy she was as Aidan kissed her and she watched him walk to the kiosk, then glancing through the crowd and seeing them. The beautiful blonde woman passionately kissing whoever she had been waiting to meet there. And then she saw his face. She had felt as if someone had punched her in the chest, taking all the breath from her and causing a jolt of pain to explode within her. Her heart sank as she saw Jackson standing there. All those painful memories that she tried to forget, even telling Aidan about it at Thanksgiving, they’d seemed more like a distant dream than something as real as when they came flooding back to her seeing him standing there. Standing there with some woman, just like the pictures that had brought her happy world crashing down around her five years ago.

When her phone had chimed in her pocket, she knew it would be Aidan before she even looked at it. She immediately thought to herself, what am I doing? Why on earth had I gone down that path with him, another actor, again? She tried to tell herself he was more than that though, but the part of her that was overwhelmed by the flood of painful emotions kept pushing that other voice away. The memories of the lies and betrayal completely taking over her thoughts and blocking out everything else. 

She tried desperately to get the tears to stop. It took all her strength, but at least by the time the cab reached Aidan’s apartment, she was able to pay the driver, with some small amount of control again. 

She stood by her car with her arms crossed in front of her body, leaning against the side of it, looking down at her feet. Trying her hardest to keep that small semblance of control in place for when he arrived. It was only 7 or 8 minutes after she’d gotten there that his car had pulled in as well. 

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath as the car parked and his door opened. The driver also got out and started taking their luggage out as Aidan walked over to her. 

“Are you alright Kate,” He asked as he approached her. 

She couldn’t bear to look him in the face and kept staring down at the ground. She finally glanced up for a moment, seeing the look of concern on his face and nodded. “Sorry about that,” she said her voice sounding a bit cold and distant. She quickly walked past him and grabbed her suitcase and put it into her car. 

“Slow down, Kate,” He said as he gently grabbed her arm. 

She looked at him again and he could see how red and swollen her eyes were. “Why don’t you come up to my apartment for just a little while before you drive home,” he said, his voice calm and soothing.

She shook her head and pulled her arm away. “No, I just want to go home.” She paused and then sighed, “Thank you for taking me along, it was wonderful there.” He couldn’t help notice she emphasized ‘there’ a bit more than the other words.

“Wait,” he said pleadingly as her hand reached for the door handle. “Why don’t I drive you home, and I can get a car to bring me back to Vancouver. I hate the thought of you driving all the way home upset like this.”

“I’m fine,” she firmly replied, opening the door. 

He moved so his body was between her and getting into the car. “Kate, please don’t go like this.”

Her expression turned more angry than it had been before. “I’m sorry Aidan,” she said, her voice still cold and distant, “I told you I couldn’t make you any promises. I don’t think this is a very good idea now. Please move so I can go.”

He let out a deep sigh and moved out of her way. He knew at this point trying to talk any more to her was just going to make her even angrier. She needed some time to deal with all of this, and at this point in time, it was painfully obvious, she didn’t want him to help her with that.

Her drive home was filled with every emotion possible. Kate finally pulled into the lot behind the bar and parked her car. As she was climbing out, she saw Danny was sitting on the steps up to her apartment. She caught a glimpse of him putting his cell phone back in his pocket as he stood up and walked over to her.

“What are you doing here,” she asked, though she already guessed the answer.

He sighed and looked at her, he knew she didn’t really have to ask, but if she wanted him to say it then he would. “Aidan wanted to be sure you made it home safely.” 

He took her suitcase from her. “Are you OK, Kate?” He asked. 

She shook her head and walked toward the stairs. He followed her up and watched as she went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of vodka out of a cupboard. She looked at him, as she pulled two shot glasses out and held one toward him.

“Sorry dear,” he replied, “I have to work early tomorrow and I don’t think that’s a good idea, so I’m going to pass.”

She shrugged and poured one for herself and choked it down. It had been so long since Danny had seen her look this devastated. He remembered too many times when she first came back from LA when she was like this. Eventually she’d gotten over it, but it had taken a very long time for the Kate he knew from before LA to return, and of course that Kate was never quite the same with all the walls she’d put up. He walked over and put his arms around her gently and she rested her forehead against his chest. The tears started flowing again as she stood there. 

After standing there for a while, he suggested they sit down on the couch. She apologized that his shirt was now all wet from her tears as she stepped back and saw it.

“For you Kate,” he smiled at her, “I’d gladly get soaked, though I really do hate to see you like this.”

She took another shot and then walked over to sit down. He sat next to her and put his arm over her shoulder. She tilted her head and rested it against his chest. The tears had finally stopped again, but the horrible feeling of despair was still there.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He finally said breaking the silence. He’d never been great about knowing what to say to make her feel better, though he some how always seemed to find some way to do it. 

She sighed and finally spoke, “Seeing Jackson just brought back all those feelings from the past. Like it had just happened yesterday, and not 5 years ago.” Then she asked sadly, “why does it still have to hurt so much?”

“I don’t know,” he said softly as he squeezed her a little tighter, rubbing her shoulder with his hand.

“I certainly don’t love him anymore and I thought I was over all of it.”

Danny chuckled a little bit and she pulled her head back and looked at him.

“What’s funny about that?” She demanded to know.

“Kate, if you were completely over it, you wouldn’t have these horribly high walls built and your undying resolution to dislike every actor who comes into your life. We both know Aidan wasn’t the first to try to get to know you, although he certainly was able to get much farther than anyone else.”

She shook her head and said sadly, “that was a mistake.”

“Kate look at me,” he said. “Do you really think it would have been a mistake if you’d never known Jackson? Is there actually anything wrong with Aidan? God Kate, he cares so much about you, and I can’t imagine he would ever do anything to hurt you. Don’t judge Aidan by what Jackson did to you. You have to look at a person for who they are, not what they do for a living and not what others like them may have done.”

Unfortunately Kate’s temper got the best of her, “We both also know that even the people we think are the purest of heart can let us down and do things we never imagined they could.”

He shook his head at her, a little anger flickering in his own eyes. He clenched his jaw for a moment, then let out the deep breath he’d taken.

“That’s different Kate.” He finally said. “You can’t use what happened to my parents as one of your many justifications for why you keep pushing everyone out of your life. Even though she was an actress, she could have been anything. Sometimes relationships just don’t work out and you end up falling in love with someone else, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a chance.”

“I’m sorry,” She said as she closed her eyes tightly and rested her head against his chest again. 

He put his hand gently up to the back of her head and rested his cheek on the top of her head, her soft curls brushing against his cheek, and whispered, “I know.”

After they sat there in silence for a while, Danny offered to walk to the deli and get her something to eat for dinner. At first she declined, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. While he was gone, she decided she’d better call Sean and Sarah to let them know she was home so they wouldn’t start to worry. She was fairly brief, just saying she was home and that the island was very nice. She couldn’t bear to mention Jackson or what had happened at the airport. 

After calling them she decided she would unpack her suit case. When she saw the box with the sail boat tears welled up in her eyes again. She set the box on her dresser, but couldn’t bear to open it. She headed back to the kitchen for another shot to try to ease her nerves.

Danny arrived back a short while later with two sandwiches and some bottled water that he made her drink as he put the vodka away. “I think you’ve had enough of that for today,” he softly said to her. After they finished eating, he said he was going to head home if she would be OK. She sighed softly and thought to herself how she didn’t really want to be alone. Tears started welling up in her eyes again. 

“Hey, it’s OK,” he said gently and went over and wrapped his arms around her again as he saw a couple tears stream down her cheeks. “I can stay if you really don’t want to be alone. I just have to be up really early for my shift tomorrow.” He could tell that between the events of the day and the shots of vodka that she was nearing the point of exhaustion anyway. “Why don’t I lie on your bed with you for a while, and I’ll either go when you fall asleep, or if I fall asleep, I’ll leave early enough to run home and change, OK?”

She nodded and headed for the bedroom. He sighed and followed her in. He lied down on the bed and she went into the bathroom. She took her necklaces off and sighed as she gently rubbed her fingers over the one from Aidan. She fought back tears again and put it away in a drawer along with her charm bracelet. She didn’t want to see those reminders right now either. She hung her mom’s locket on a hook by the mirror and then went back out to the bedroom.

She curled up next to Danny and rested her head on his chest. He gently rubbed her back hoping she’d fall asleep quickly. She was actually sort of afraid to fall asleep remembering the months of horrible nightmares she had when she first came back from LA, but she was also so very tired. He waited until she had dozed off and then carefully moved her off of him and left. He hoped this time it wouldn’t take her as long to get past this pain as it had before. She, of all people, deserved to be happy after everything bad that had happened in her life.

In the morning she called Sean and asked if he could get by without her for the lunch shift. She told him that she wanted to go out and ride Shadow around in the arena since she hadn’t been out there in a while to ride him. She said she’d be back to help with the dinner shift. He could sense something wasn’t right with her, but wasn’t sure what. He told her that if she’d rather stay and have dinner with Ellie and Mac, that would be fine, as it had been pretty slow this week at the bar. 

She called Ellie next to let them know she was driving out. 

“Are you doing OK, Katie?” Ellie asked when she answered the phone. 

“I’ve been better,” Kate replied. “Did Aidan or Danny call Mac?” she asked since she could tell Ellie already knew by her question. Ellie told her Danny had called. Ellie said that she was glad that Kate had decided to take the day off and come out and ride since that always seemed to lift her spirits, even if it was only around the arena.

Kate rode for a while, but didn’t really feel like staying for dinner. Ellie tried to be comforting, but Kate always had a hard time with that since Ellie had always had Mac there for her and never had to go through anything even remotely similar. Seeing Bella lifted her spirits a little too, but for the most part, she didn’t really feel like staying around them. It was also Thursday night, and when Mac and Danny would do their dinner thing, Ellie and Bella would go and have a play date with another friend of hers that had a daughter Bella’s age. Kate didn’t really want to impose on that.

She went home and showered and then went down to the bar to see how things were going down there. Sean was surprised to see her and gave her a hug when she came in. He rarely gave her hugs, so it seemed quite out of character. She gave him a puzzled look and asked what that was for after he’d hugged her.

He sighed deeply, “Aidan came in earlier. He wanted to make sure you were doing OK. He told me about the airport.”

She sighed and sat down at the bar. She wasn’t quite sure what to do. Given it was a Thursday night, and Mac and Danny were likely coming for dinner, she wondered if Aidan would be joining them if we was still in town. She really didn’t feel like facing him today. She also didn’t want to go back up to her lonely apartment either. 

“Did he say if he was coming back tonight?” She asked Sean.

“He wasn’t sure what he was doing when he left.” Sean said, he sighed again. “He may have driven back to Vancouver though, since you weren’t here and once he was here he seemed conflicted as to whether he should give you more time before he saw you again.”

“What did you tell him?” She asked, assuming either Aidan would have asked Sean’s opinion of the situation or that Sean would have felt the urge to give him some advice even if he hadn’t asked. She’d seen him play that ‘tell your troubles to the bartender’ act one too many times.

Sean sighed again, his niece knew him much to well to try to get anything by her. “I told him to give you some time.” 

She took out her phone and fidgeted with it for a few minutes. She finally sent Danny a text asking if Aidan was joining them for dinner. He replied back that he’d gone back to Vancouver so it would just be him and Mac if she wanted to join them. She let out a sigh of relief and then decided she would. She helped a little with the customers to take her mind off things, but mostly just sat with them and listened to them talk. Danny asked if she wanted to play their regular round of darts or not. She said she’d take a rain check on it this time. That was a bit too much of a reminder of Aidan than she felt like dealing with. 

She tried to get back into her normal routine on Friday. Half way through the day she started thinking about how the next day was New Year’s eve. On the flight back, they’d talked about it and she’d told him that the bar was always quite crowded that night and Danny’s band always performed. She started to worry that he might decide to come that night to see Danny play, and so she decided to see if she could get Ellie and Mac to come to help be a buffer if she needed it. Ellie said they’d be happy to do that for her.


	10. Chapter 10

Kate was feeling a little better on Saturday, but still wasn’t ready to face Aidan yet. She was still hoping that he didn’t show up at the bar for New Years Eve. She wondered if perhaps Sean’s advice would keep him away longer, or if he’d decide to come and support Danny’s band. She realized that it wouldn’t be all that unusual for him to come to see Danny play given they had forged quite a friendship as well since meeting. She glanced at the box with the sailboat that was sitting on her dresser as she walked out of the bathroom to head down to the bar, but still wouldn’t take it out.

Lunch went by fairly quickly, and by about 6:00 the bar was starting to fill up with people coming in for dinner and to stay and watch the band when they started later. Kate was staying busy with customers, but kept her eye on the door just in case Aidan showed up. She wasn’t sure what she planned to do or say if he did, but she wanted to at least be aware of him being there if he did show up. Mac and Ellie came in around 7:00 and had dinner and Danny and the band came in through the kitchen around 8:30 to start playing at 9:00. Kate had chatted a little with Ellie and Mac when she found some time, but with all the people there it was difficult to get a break. Even with Sean, Eva and Shelly there, the 4 of them were staying quite busy with all the customers.

She hadn’t seen Aidan yet, and around 10:30 she finally got another chance to stop by and talk to Ellie and Mac. “Thanks so much for coming,” She said with a smile. “I guess I was worrying over nothing since Aidan hasn’t shown up yet.”

Mac and Ellie both shot each other a confused look and then looked back at her. Kate was puzzled by their exchange of glances and Ellie smiled softly at her. “He’s been here most of the night Kate.”

“What? Where?” She said in disbelief. They nodded up to the stage where the band had been playing and she saw him on a stool off to the side of the stage playing along with the others. She’d been so focused on watching for him to come in the front door, she really hadn’t paid any attention to the band coming in through the kitchen and setting up. She hadn’t even taken the time to say hello to Danny since she’d been so busy with customers and preoccupied on watching the door.

Her chest felt tight when she saw him. He was looking down at his guitar, and not looking over at her. He was wearing a baseball cap, which she didn’t recall ever seeing him do before. The hat was even pulled down a little over his face making him less noticeable.

“Are you OK?” Ellie asked softly. Kate just nodded as she turned back to them. Ellie could tell by the look on her face that she really wasn’t all right. 

She glanced over at the clock because she knew the band usually played for about an hour and a half, then took a short break and came back and played again until midnight. She felt a wave of panic wash over her now because she didn’t know what to say or do. She realized she owed him at least the courtesy to be nice to him for all that he did for her on their trip. She hadn’t been very nice at all when she left him at his apartment. Unfortunately the painful memories that had consumed her when she saw Jackson at the airport were still bothering her. 

She told Ellie and Mac she needed to go take care of some more orders and that she’d be back later to see them again before they left. She headed to the bar with a tray and started making some new drinks for customers. She heard the band finish their current song, and heard Danny say they’d be back again in a little bit. 

Danny walked over to the bar to get a drink, and stood at the end closest to where they had been playing since the bar stools were all full. 

“Hi Kate,” he said to her, trying to gauge what mood she was in. “Great turn out this year isn’t it?” Danny wasn’t very good at small talk, and his awkwardness at least brought a little grin to her face. 

“Can I get a couple beers for Aidan and me?” he asked.

She nodded and poured two glasses for him. As she handed them to him, he gave her a concerned look and bit at his lip. “Are you OK with him being here? I was going to ask for permission, but figured forgiveness was more my style anyway.” He hesitated for a moment then added, “don’t take it out on him though, OK? I may have lied to him and told him you said you were OK with him coming.” 

She took a deep breath, shook her head and gave him a little glare. She finally let out a loud sigh then replied, “Well I won’t throw you both out if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

“Would it be pushing my luck to ask that you at least come over and say hi?” he asked hopefully. 

She bit her lip and looked at him sadly. “I don’t think I can Danny,” she finally said softly. 

“Oh, Come on. It’s one syllable. Two letters. I’m sure you can manage that, right?” He said as he swung his arm over her shoulder and started pulling her toward the stage. 

She reluctantly let him drag her over. ‘Be courteous’ she kept saying over and over to herself in her head.

Danny handed Aidan the beer and he smiled up and thanked him. He glanced at Kate and gave her a small smile. He immediately noticed she was only wearing her mom’s locket and that she didn’t have her charm bracelet on either. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t comfortable being there and could also tell that Danny had dragged her over. He started to wonder now if Danny had lied about getting her OK to come and play with them.

“Sorry Kate, I forgot our mate here can be a bit of a charlatan at times.” giving Danny a bit of an unhappy glare.

“What?” Danny said as if he didn’t know what Aidan was referring to. Aidan just raised his eyebrow at him and gave him a look of irritation.

He turned back to Kate and smiled again, “You’d better get back to your customers. It’s quite busy in here tonight. It was nice to see you though.” 

She nodded and gave him a little smile and turned back to the bar. One syllable. Two Letters. Danny was wrong, she hadn’t even been able to get that much out. She went back to the kitchen for a little while to try to regain some composure before she went back out. Sean was covering the bar too, and she knew he could handle it while she was in the back for a little bit. Shelly came in to check on her and gave her a sympathetic smile. She knew about what had happened at the airport already and could tell Kate had been acting off ever since. 

“Do you want a little advice, sweetie?” She asked as she leaned on the counter next to where Kate was sitting. 

“Even if I say no, are you going to give it to me anyway,” Kate replied as she fidgeted with a little string on her jeans.

“Of course, but it’s always nicer when you agree.” Shelly said with a little laugh.

“Fine, what’s the advice?” Kate said deciding to humor her.

“You know I spend a lot of time on the different production sets. It’s pretty easy to spot the good guys from the not-so-good ones when you’re there and they don’t really know you’re watching them. A lot of the actors can get pretty flirty with all the fans and the crew and the actresses. I’ve watched Aidan a lot, though I doubt he noticed, but he really is different from the others Kate. I know Danny’s probably told you that too, but when he’s around you, it’s so easy to see. I’ve never seen him look at any of the other women around set with a fraction of how he looks at you. You must realize that, right? The way his eyes light up whenever he sees you, especially whenever you smile at him. I know that what you went through with Jackson was painful, and maybe I should have been a better friend back then and tried to talk you out of it, but I was young and stupid then too.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “Kate, Jackson never looked at you the way Aidan does. I think you know that too and maybe that scares you a little. It’s OK to be a little afraid, but you shouldn’t be afraid to give him a chance.”

Kate sighed and gave her a half smile, “I think you need to work on your definition of ‘little’, but thanks.”

They could hear that the band had started playing again. “I think it’s safe for you to come back out now.” Shelly teased her as she headed toward the door. Kate took a deep breath and followed her out.

Kate was able to stay busy filling orders and helping customers for the rest of the evening. She glanced up at the stage a couple times, but Aidan was always just looking down at his guitar while he played. Danny caught her looking up and winked at her a couple times. She would roll her eyes at him and shake her head. 

As the clock neared midnight, the band played their last song, and then the crowd counted down the last few seconds. Several tables had noise makers and as midnight arrived, most people yelled ‘Happy New Year’, while others were blowing on the noise makers. Kate glanced at Aidan for a moment and saw he was looking at her. She held his gaze for a moment, and then bit her lip and turned in a different direction. 

The crowd started thinning out after Midnight. Mac and Ellie came over and Ellie gave her a big hug before they left. They realized earlier that they weren’t really needed for interference, but they were enjoying having a night out together so had stayed all the way until Midnight. There were also a lot of people there that they knew and didn’t normally get the chance to see. Ellie asked if she was coming out to ride tomorrow, since it was a Sunday. Kate said she sort of doubted she would since she’d been out on Thursday and it was suppose to be really rainy, but she’d think about it. Mac gave her a half hug with his arm across her back and shoulder. She gave him a playful pat on his belly. He’d never been much of a hugger with her, but she knew he meant well anyway.

The band was packing up their stuff and Kate built up the nerve to go over and see if they wanted another round of drinks before they left, mostly looking at Danny when she asked and not so much at Aidan. Danny said they were going to take all the gear out and some of them might come back in for a drink afterwards. She nodded and went back to the bar. 

Since the crowd was really thinning out, Sean said he was going to head home, and she let Eva go as well. Shelly said she’d stick around and take care of the few remaining tables of customers with Kate.

A short while later Danny and Aidan came back in. They sat at the bar, which was mostly empty at that point. She asked if they wanted another round of beers or something else. They both said they’d take a beer. “The music was really great tonight,” she said as she handed them the glasses. They both said thanks at the same time and she laughed a little at them. She grabbed an empty tray and started going around the bar to pick up all the remaining empty glasses and to see if any of the customers Shelly hadn’t gotten to yet wanted anything else before they started to close up for the night. There were quite a few tables of empty glasses with how busy it had been, so it was going to take them awhile to get it all cleaned up. 

She glanced up as Aidan walked toward her, giving her a friendly smile and carrying an empty tray. “Let me give you a hand Kate.” He said as he started putting some of the empty glasses from a nearby table on the tray. ”I don’t think I ever told you I actually had to wait tables too when I was in between kitchen jobs.” He winked at her and then added “I can get some references if you don’t believe me.”

She gave him a little smile and went back to working on the table she was at. Her heart ached thinking about how even after how cold she’d been to him, he still kept doing nice things for her. As Aidan passed Shelly on the way back to the bar, she teased him that she wasn’t planning on splitting her tips with him for helping with the tables. He chuckled as he took the tray into the kitchen. 

Kate intentionally waited for him to come back out before taking her own tray into the kitchen. She didn’t want to deal with being alone with him, not yet anyway. When she came back to the front, Danny and Aidan were standing up to go. Danny shot her a little wink and said good night and headed for the door. Aidan hesitated for a moment, then said “Happy New Year Kate”, and gave her a smile and followed Danny out.

Kate had turned her alarm off when she went to bed, but still woke up a little before 7:00. The rain had returned, and she laid there in bed listening to the downpour beat against her bedroom window. Even though she’d just woken up, she still felt so tired. The nightmares with Jackson had come back again, but it was worse when she would dream it was Aidan instead of Jackson who betrayed her. His soft Irish voice and piercing blue eyes telling her he was sorry instead of Jackson. She would wake up from those feeling like someone had ripped her heart right out of her chest. Telling herself it was just a nightmare as tears would try to escape from her eyes and she would gasp for breath.

She was still just laying there listening to the rain when she heard a knock on her door. She hesitantly went to see who it was, grabbing a sweatshirt to throw over the tank top she had been sleeping in with a pair of leggings.

She cracked the door open, and saw those piercing blue eyes and a warm smile looking back at her.

“Good morning, Kate.” He said with his soft Irish accent, “I hope I didn’t wake you. I brought you some coffee.” He held out the cup of coffee to her.

She smiled and managed a small thank you, and took it from him, standing against the frame of the door. He noticed she looked very tired and wondered if she hadn’t been sleeping very well. Her eyes had a look of exhaustion mixed with sadness.

“I wanted to talk to you, but I didn’t want to do it last night at the bar, so thought I’d stop by on my way back to Vancouver this morning. I had stayed at Danny’s last night instead of driving all the way back.”

She didn’t budge from the doorway, so he let out a little sigh before continuing, realizing he’d have to do it from the landing. He gave her a little look thinking he could be just as stubborn as she was.

“I wanted to let you know that I can completely understand how painful it was for you to see him at the airport. If it had been reversed and it had been me seeing her, well I know it would have had a horrible effect on me too. I’m so sorry that we had the unfortunate timing of being there at the same time.” He paused for a minute to gauge her reaction. She was at least looking at him today, though her gaze still seemed a bit distant and cold.

“I also wanted to let you know that I have to fly out tomorrow afternoon to go to LA for two weeks for work. I didn’t want you to think I had given up on you and just vanished. I know it’s probably going to take you some time to deal with those wounds being opened up again, but I’m here for you when you feel like you are ready to talk. There’s no way in hell I’m just giving up on you Kate. I also know you can be stubborn as hell and adamant about putting your walls back up, but I would happily do whatever it takes to get you to believe in us again, no matter how long that might take. I’m not planning on going any where any time soon.” He paused again then added with a small smile, “Well after I get back from LA that is.” He stopped again to see if she wanted to jump in and say anything or to see if he might get a little smile from her.

After a moment of her just staring at him, he spoke again, “I’m not like him you know. I told you that at the farm. I’m not some Hollywood actor, and have no plans to ever be one. I’d happily stay in Vancouver finding other roles here once this one is over so that I could be with you. I even hate the thought of having to be there for a couple of weeks, but at least I know at the end I get to come back up here and see you.” He smiled at her softly and waited again to see if she would eventually say something.

She finally did bite on her lip for a moment and softly replied, “Have a good trip.” He nodded, realizing she wasn’t ready to deal with this yet, and sighed a little. He still smiled as he replied “Thanks, I’ll see you in two weeks.” He gave her a little wink and headed back down the stairs.

She closed the door and leaned against it, thumping the back of her head gently against it a couple times. She closed her eyes and sighed. ‘Have a good trip’, she thought to herself as she shook her head, really, that’s all you could say. 

She walked over to the kitchen and set the coffee down and went back into the bedroom to grab her slippers since her feet were freezing. As she walked by her dresser, she saw the box with the sailboat out of the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment, while she reached for the box and finally opened it. She took the sailboat back out to the kitchen and set it on the counter as she drank her coffee. She traced her fingers along it. Even though it was overcast outside, it still sparkled in the light from her apartment. She picked it up and thought back to sailing on the island with him, and the night they spent on the boat. 

She shook her head and set it down, still not sure whether she was strong enough to take that chance again. She turned and went to take a shower. After she was dressed and done brushing her hair, she opened the drawer she’d put her charm bracelet in. She pulled it out and started looking at all the charms again, gently running them between her fingers. The sparkle from the dice caught her eye and she stopped longer on that one. She also pulled out the necklace Aidan had given her and looked intently at it. 

She didn’t put either of them on, but did carry them with her to the kitchen and sat them on the counter next to the sailboat. She thought back to all the events of the last few months and all the nice things Aidan had done for her. She also thought about what Danny and Shelly had said to her. Maybe it was good that he was going to be gone for two weeks. That would give her time to deal with the pain of seeing Jackson again without feeling any pressure from him. He obviously wasn’t going to give up on her and hopefully by the time he came back she’d be able to think clearly again. Right now her thoughts were still too consumed by remembering the lies and betrayal from five years ago.

It was starting to get closer to lunch time, and she decided to walk to the deli and get something to eat. She grabbed her jacket that was hanging by the door and slipped it on. As she did something in the pocket hit against her side. She reached in and felt the cool metallic surface, rubbing it between her fingers for a moment before pulling it out to look at it. She’d forgotten that she had been the last one holding on to the medallion when they were landing and that she had stuck it into her pocket as Aidan was helping the pilot with the luggage. She ran it between her fingers for a few minutes, then set it on the counter and went out to get something to eat.

When she returned from lunch, she walked over and picked up the medallion again. She went over and sat on the couch with it, flipping it over in her fingers. She finally made up her mind, and put the medallion in her pocket. She stood up and walked back to the counter, put on the bracelet and the necklace, grabbed her keys and her purse, and left to drive to Vancouver.

When she reached his apartment, she stood outside his door for a few minutes. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her chest she was having a hard time focusing on anything else. She had reached up to knock once, but pulled her arm back before she did. She reached in her pocket again and rubbed the medallion for a minute. She took a deep breath and finally reached up and knocked. 

It took a minute for the door to finally open. Aidan’s eyes opened wide in surprise as he saw her. He had his cell phone in one hand and his wallet in the other. 

“Kate?” the tone of his voice matching the surprised expression on his face. “Please come in.” He said as he opened the door wider and stepped to the side. He put his wallet down on a table next to the door. He gave her an apologetic look as he closed the door, and pointed to the phone, “Can you give me a couple minutes to finish this?”

She nodded and smiled. He said he’d be right back and she could make her self comfortable in the living room if she’d like. He turned and walked back into the kitchen where she could see he’d been writing things down on a piece of paper. She could hear him repeating things as he was writing, and it sounded like logistics for his trip. 

She took a look around the living room. For the most part it had the look of being pre-furnished. She knew a lot of the apartments around town catered to the flow of actors coming in and out of town needing nice accommodations without wanting to make investments in furnishing something themselves. She noticed some large black and white photographs on the wall and walked over to take a closer look as one of them had caught her attention. One was of a castle and another of a rugged shoreline, but the third was of Black Creek Falls. It really was a beautiful shot of it, and she was surprised to see she was actually in the picture. She was standing by the horses as they were drinking, she was leaning down and rubbing Shadow’s mane. You could only see part of her profile, and if she hadn’t been the one in the picture, she didn’t think any one would have known it was actually her.

She heard Aidan walking back in from the other room. She glanced at him for a second and then turned back to the picture on the wall. 

“I didn’t realize you took a picture of me that day,” She said as he approached her.

He smiled a bit sheepishly before he spoke, “I guess that’s sort of my thing.” She looked at the other two pictures again and hadn’t noticed at first glance that the others also had people in them, that weren’t aware of being photographed. There was a couple sitting watching the waves in the shoreline picture, and a mother walking with her little boy in the castle picture. “I guess I just like getting that touch of something more personable than just a picture of a place.”

“Well they are really beautiful photographs, Aidan.” She replied softly.

She turned away from the wall and studied him a bit more. She hadn’t really noticed at first, but he looked like he had just returned from working out, wearing shorts and a t-shirt that was wet from sweat. His hair was also quite a mess and a bit damp. She’d never exactly seen him look like that, although she had seen him covered in sweat. ‘Focus on why you’re here’ she reminded herself.

She pulled the medallion from her pocket and handed it to him. “I thought you might like this back for your trip to LA.” 

He smiled at her and reached out his hand. She gently set it on his palm, her fingers grazing his skin for a moment before she let it go and pulled her arm back. He noticed as she had handed it to him, that she was wearing her bracelet again. He quickly glanced at her neck and noticed the necklace was there too.

“Thanks Kate. I was actually looking for it earlier today while I was packing and hoped that you had it.” 

She didn’t realize she had held her breath as she handed it to him, and slowly exhaled. “Well I should head back. I just didn’t want you to have to fly without your magical medallion.” She gave him a little smile, which was more than he’d seen on her face in their recent encounters.

“Hey, you just got here. Don’t run off already.” He quickly replied. He looked toward the door and then back to her. “I actually ordered some Thai food for dinner. Why don’t you stay and eat with me. It’s the least I can do since you drove all this way to bring my medallion back. I always order too much and since I’m leaving tomorrow, I’ll just have to throw it out anyway.”

She debated it for a moment and then agreed to stay and eat. She really didn’t want to leave already, but had just felt so awkward with being there that she wasn’t sure what to do once she had given him the medallion. 

He glanced down at his clothes and then back at her with a bit of a pleading look. “Would you be willing to get the door when the food gets here and I’ll run in and take a quick shower? I’d planned to shower right after I called the food order in, but then the travel coordinator for work called with some changes to the plans and I didn’t make it in there yet.”

“Sure,” she said and nodded.

“Great, my wallet’s right there by the door.” He turned and started to head to his bedroom, but then he stopped and turned back to her. “Promise me you’ll be here when I come out and not take off again?” He raised his eyebrow in a concerned look and licked then bit on his lip.

She smiled and nodded. As he vanished through a door, she looked around his apartment a little more. There were large glass windows lining both the living and kitchen area. His apartment was on the 4th floor of the building, and she could see from where she stood that the view looked quite breathtaking.

A minute later there was a knock on the door, and she took the food and paid the delivery man. She set it on the counter in the kitchen and noticed there was a door there that led out onto a balcony. She decided to go out to see the view better. 

After several minutes she was starting to get cold and turned to go back inside. It was then that she realized the door was actually locked. Luckily it was only a few more minutes before she saw Aidan was coming back out from his shower. With the lights in the apartment reflecting on the glass windows, he didn’t see her at first. She was about to knock on the glass when she saw his expression change from hopeful to a look very similar to the despair that she had seen at Christmas time. Her heart felt tight in her chest. She realized that even with how she’d been acting, she never saw him look like that about her. He probably had felt like that, but didn’t want her to know how much it hurt and put on a strong façade.

She swallowed hard and took in a deep breath, trying to shake off the guilt that had rushed through her. She knocked on the glass, causing him to jump. She smiled apologetically and pointed to the door handle. As he walked over and let her back in, she finally found the strength to at least joke a little. 

“You know me and locks, I really do need some lessons on how they work.” 

He laughed at her and told her she looked cold. He put his arm around her shoulders and walked her back into the living room where there was a gas fireplace in the wall. “It’s not as nice as a real fire, but it will help warm you up,” he said as he flicked a switch on and the flames roared though it. “Have a seat here and I’ll get some plates and the food.”

He moved a small table over closer to where she was sitting and started putting the food and plates on it. He asked if she’d like a glass of wine or a beer, and while she was a little reluctant at first, she finally agreed to a little wine. He returned with a glass of wine for her and a beer for himself.

There was a bit of an awkward silence as they started to eat, which he ended up filling by talking about one time that he had been able to visit Thailand with his parents. After that he moved on to talking about different Thai dishes that he had tried making before, and which ones were his favorite. She’d really missed hearing his voice and was starting to feel so much better than when she first arrived.

After they were done eating, she helped him take the dishes into the kitchen. He rinsed the plates off and put them in the dishwasher and asked if she’d like some more wine.

“I really should be heading back,” she said, although he could sense from her expression that she really didn’t want to go.

He sighed and looked at her. He really was trying not to pressure her and give her time to deal with things, but he also couldn’t stand the thought of her leaving already. “Please stay a while longer?” he said with a bit of a pleading look on his face. “I’ve really missed you and two weeks is so long before I’ll get to see you again. Please stay for just a little while longer at least.”

She looked into his eyes, like blue pools of water that she so desperately wanted to get lost in again. She bit her lip and felt her brow crease on her forehead. So many thoughts racing through her mind that it was hard to concentrate and decide what to do. She finally nodded and watched his expression change from pleading to relieved. She agreed to one more glass of wine and they walked back into the living room. 

Before they sat down, she stopped and turned to face him. She took a deep breath and softly asked, “Will you sing that song for me again?” her expression looking sad, but a little hopeful. 

He looked surprised but then nodded and went to get his guitar. She sat down in an oversized chair that was facing the fireplace. He returned a few minutes later and scooted an ottoman a little closer to where she was sitting and sat down in front of her.

He smiled at her as he started to play. This time he looked her intently in the eyes as he sang it, never looking away. She smiled sadly as she listened to him sing. 

You never know when you're gonna meet someone  
And your whole wide world in a moment comes undone…

.. And all my scars don't seem to matter anymore  
Cause they led me here to you…

…But I'm starting to believe that this could be the start of something good…

As he finished, tears started welling up in her eyes and a few escaped and fell down her cheeks.

He put his guitar on the ottoman, and dropped down on his knees in front of her and reached up to brush the tears away. “Hey, it’s OK Kate,” he said softly as he wrapped his arms around her, “shhhhhh, you’re OK. Don’t cry.”

She buried her face into his neck and took a deep breath, wrapping her arms around his chest and holding on so tightly. He put one hand on the back of her head and rubbed her back with the other. He could feel a few more tears run down his neck as he held her and her body was trembling slightly. 

“I’ve missed you so much,” she finally whispered against his neck. “I’m so sorry I tried to push you away.”

He let out a happy sigh and squeezed her a little tighter.

“I’ll always be here for you Kate,” he whispered back to her. 

She finally pulled her head back and looked into his eyes. She ran her fingers along his face, starting up near his eyebrows and slowly moved them down toward his mouth. He kissed them softly when they stopped on his lips. He kept his gaze locked on her eyes and watched them as she was studying his face. He could tell she was still hurting and probably still conflicted about trusting him. He kept a gentle smile on his face, trying to comfort her and make her feel safe again. She finally sighed and leaned in, moving her fingers slightly so she could kiss his lips. He could feel her take a deep breath and hold it as they kissed. This kiss feeling more intense than the ones they’d shared on the island. It was like she was trying to make sure he understood that she was sorry and never meant to hurt him. 

He gently brushed the hair from her cheeks and rested his forehead against hers when they finally stopped for a moment to breath. He was still kneeling in front of her and gently got up, sliding next to her in the chair, keeping his arm around her. She buried her head into his chest, and he rubbed her arm with his hand. 

They sat like that for quite some time, just watching the fireplace while he was caressing her arm gently. He could feel her body finally starting to relax. He didn’t need to touch her earlier to notice how much tension had been there when she arrived. 

He realized it was starting to get a little late and finally asked softly if she’d stay the night. He gave her a sheepish grin and said he promised he’d behave and not try anything. She initially declined saying she needed to be back home to open the bar in the morning for the kitchen staff. He reminded her that he could wake her up early since he’d be awake anyway, and she’d make it back in plenty of time. She sighed and looked at him. She really didn’t want to leave either. She finally agreed to stay. He turned the lights and the fireplace off and took her hand and led her to his bedroom.

He smiled at her and pulled out the flannel pajama top that she’d borrowed on the island. “You’re welcome to wear this if you’d be more comfortable.” He grabbed the bottoms too and said she was welcome to wear those, though they may be too big. He said she could change in the bathroom that was across the hall from his room. He grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and walked into his bathroom that was attached to his bedroom to change. 

She decided the top was long enough, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her completely naked several times. She realized, however, he was just trying to be gentlemanly and not make her feel uncomfortable.

When she returned to his room, he was already laying in bed, propped up by quite a few pillows. She hadn’t noticed before that there was also a fireplace in his room, and he had turned it on. He saw her glance at it as she walked in and asked if she’d rather not have it on.

“No it’s fine,” She said as she crawled onto the bed next to him. They laid there for a while watching the flames. One of his hands was lost in her curls, gently cradling the back of her head, rubbing it lightly with his fingers. She reached over and laced her fingers through his other hand and rested it on his chest. She also rested her head on his chest while she watched the fire, softly caressing his fingers with hers. It felt so soothing to hear his heart beat again. She hadn’t realized how much she’d actually missed that until she was laying there with him.

“Two weeks?” She finally said.

“Aye,” he said sadly with a sigh, “two weeks.”

She pushed herself up on her elbow so she could see his face. “These past few days without you have been so hard. I don’t really know what I was thinking,” she said sadly. “I’m really going to miss you.” She smiled softly at him and ran her fingers along his face again. 

She took a deep breath before she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. “Can we make a new memory for me to hold on to while you’re gone?” she said as she looked longingly into his eyes. 

He smiled at her and then pulled her towards him, their lips coming together and he took a deep breath as they kissed. He rolled her on to her back and continued kissing her as his fingers slowly started to unbutton her top. Kissing her neck gently and moving his lips down toward her collar bone.

This time was much more like their first time, slow and deliberate, making every moment count. Every touch, kiss and caress, a little slower and more meaningful. She kept her eyes locked on him, fearing that if she were to close them he’d slip away and be gone. She realized she couldn’t bear the thought of ever losing him. She’d been so foolish to push him away. He was what she wanted, what she needed to help her get over the pain and to feel loved again. 

He kissed every inch of her body as if to memorize it so he could dream about her while he was away. He grazed every curve of her body gently with his finger tips and hoped that she’d remember his touch while he was gone as well. Focusing intently on every sound she made, each moan and whimper as he continued exploring every inch of her body with his tongue and mouth. Every time he would glance at her face, those green eyes were focused so intently on him, as if she was afraid he was going to vanish like in a dream. 

He rolled over on to his back and pulled her on top of him so he could see her face better in the low glow from the fireplace. She arched her back as his fingers dug into her hips and they steadily moved together. She pulled him up closer to her, running her fingers over his face again, tracing his cheek bones and carefully studying every expression he made as he groaned softly as she continued to move with him. That was the face she wanted to see in her dreams, the one that loved her, that loved everything she did to his body, that shivered under her touch, and made her feel like she was the most important thing in the world. 

When they finally collapsed together on the bed, she held on to him tighter than she ever had as she drifted off to sleep. She dreamt about being on a sailboat again with him. The two of them sailing alone together with a warm breeze blowing through her hair. His gentle kisses falling on her neck. 

In the morning, he kissed her softly to wake her up, starting at the point here her shoulders and neck met and slowly moving up toward her lips. She sighed happily as she awoke feeling his lips against her skin. She really didn’t want to go yet. It felt like she’d just gotten him back and now he had to go again. His flight wasn’t until the afternoon, and she decided she wanted to spend as much time with him before he had to go. She told him to stay in bed and that she’d be right back. She grabbed the pajama top and put her arms through it and walked out to where she’d left her purse. 

She sent Shelly a text asking if she could go over and open the bar since she had stayed the night in Vancouver. After a minute, a text came back saying of course, followed by a wink. Kate had said she’d be back before dinner and Shelly replied back to take her time and have fun.

Kate smiled as she walked back to the bedroom, dropping the pajama shirt on the floor, and climbing into bed again with Aidan. He asked if everything was OK and she smiled happily and said it was perfect. She felt so alive again, like the past 5 days had just been a bad dream and she had finally awoken from it. She wanted him again before he had to go and he didn’t seem to mind at all the way she attacked him under the covers. 

He’d arranged for a car to pick him up and take him to the airport, but she asked if she could take him instead. He happily agreed, though he was a little surprised she wanted to return there after what happened last time. She parked in short term parking and walked with him to the terminal. When they reached the security check point she put her arms around his neck and leaned up to him and kissed him as passionately as she had on the sailboat. When they finally stopped and he attempted to catch his breath, she smiled and said she’d see him in two weeks and gave him a little wink and turned to leave. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back again, wrapping one arm around her waist and putting the other behind her head he kissed her one more time. Thinking to himself it was going to be a really long two weeks.


	11. Chapter 11

The two weeks Aidan was in LA seemed to go by so slowly, but finally they were over. Kate insisted on picking him up at the airport on the Sunday he flew back to Vancouver, and she had already arranged for Shelly to open the bar for her the following day. She anxiously waited for him in the terminal, momentarily thinking back to the day she saw Jackson, but she pushed that out of her mind the moment she saw him walking toward her. His blue eyes sparkling as he closed the distance and wrapped his arms around her. His delicious smile drawing her in, and the moment their lips met she felt warmth spread throughout her entire body.

“I’ve missed you,” She said with a longing look as they finally separated their lips, their noses still touching.

“I missed you too,” He replied and smiled at her, gently caressing her cheek with his fingers. His lips curled up into a mischievous grin and she asked him what he was up to, giving him a suspicious look.

“I found you a new charm,” he replied sweetly in response to her questioning glance. “I saw it in LA and it just reminded me of you, so I had to get it for you.”

She suggested that they head back to the apartment so she could thank him properly when he gave it to her, rather than in the terminal. She gave him a suggestive glance as she laced her fingers in his and started walking toward the car. The car ride back to his apartment was almost as torturous as the two weeks he was gone. Kate had started out with her hand just resting on his leg as they pulled out of the airport parking, but found she couldn’t help her self, and kept moving it higher up his thigh until he was noticeably uncomfortable and aroused. She was being sassy though, and if he tried putting his hands on her, she kept swatting them away and telling him to behave and not to bother the driver.

Once they arrived at his apartment building, Kate also had a great deal of fun during the elevator ride up to his apartment. There was another couple in the elevator and she had positioned herself in front of Aidan and kept reaching back and running her hand up his thigh. She would occasionally glance over her shoulder and could tell by the look on his face it was taking every bit of strength to not completely ravage her right there. 

By the time they finally did make it back into his apartment, the door had barely closed before his hands were all over her. His fingers were eagerly trying to remove her clothing, as he was busy devouring her neck with hungry kisses. She let him undress her first, but it was only a moment later when she had quickly stripped him of his clothes, shoved him down on the couch and pounced on top of him. He took a deep breath and sighed as the scent of lilies once again filled his senses. Her red curls were falling against his face and chest as she placed kisses on his lips and neck. Their bodies quickly fell into a comfortable harmony with each other, just as they had before their long separation.

It wasn’t until they were finished, laying on the couch, and he’d taken her hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss it, that he saw her bracelet and remembered the charm. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever known you to forget about your prize,” He said as he took his other hand and made the charms on the bracelet clink together with his fingers.

She looked at him with loving eyes and whispered, “You’re the best prize of all,” and kissed him passionately on the lips. After the kiss, she leaned up with a wicked little smile on her lips and added, “But I’ll still take the charm.” 

Luckily his jacket had landed close enough to the couch that he could reach it without getting up. He fished around finding the right pocket then handed her the box. She was laying next to him on the back half of the couch, partially on top of him, so she set the box on his chest to open it with one hand. She laughed as she saw the charm and pulled it up, raising her eyebrows at him with a suspicious expression.

“Mistletoe?” she said with surprise as she pulled it out. It was a beautiful silver charm, with small round white pearls for the berries set against the silver mistletoe leaves. 

He chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around her tightly. “Now we don’t have to wait for Christmas to have some handy.” He winked at her and pulled her head down for another lascivious kiss.

They quickly fell into familiar routines when he was back from LA. Aidan was still very busy with the show, but when they were filming in Ellisburg, he would stay at Kate’s apartment every night rather than driving back to his. Kate would try to make it to Vancouver occasionally when he was stuck there with filming and they would sneak off together if he had a break during the day. They would frequently walk around an art exhibit and grab a bite to eat together if there was a long enough break to get away from the set.

Generally Aidan always had Sunday’s off and he started spending them with Kate at the farm. At first it was still too rainy for trail rides, so they would ride together in the arena. He decided to stick with Captain, and after several weeks, she noticed they seemed to be bonding and Captain was actually behaving for him. At least in the arena there wasn’t a risk that Captain would take off and leave him stranded again. Once the weather started getting nicer, they did more trail rides up to the falls. 

One afternoon when they arrived at the falls, Aidan forgot about Captain’s trick and dropped his reins when they got there. Captain immediately took off back down the trail with out them. Kate accused him of doing it on purpose so he could ride back with her on Shadow since he spent the entire trip back ravishing her neck and finding lots of places to put his hands. The next time they went, she teased him about it and tried to make sure he didn’t do it again. There were a couple times though that they still had to ride back down together, and though he’d never admit it was intentional, she suspected it was.

They started bringing along picnic lunches and a blanket, spending several hours laying together listening to the water and enjoying each others company. Kate would sometimes bring a novel that she was reading and would ask Aidan to read it out loud to her. It always made the story that much better with his sensuous Irish accent. Sometimes Aidan would bring his guitar along and play it for her after they ate. The gorgeous falls combined with his melodic voice were generally more than she could handle, and those afternoons they ended up doing more than just enjoying the falls, hoping no unsuspecting hiking parties would stumble across them in compromising positions.

After they would get back from riding, they would either stay and have dinner with Ellie and Mac, or head back to town and join Sarah and Sean for dinner at their house. Aidan really enjoyed his Sunday’s with all of them, as they all treated him like he was part of their family. Even though he missed his own family back in Ireland, they were all so welcoming and kind that it helped considerably. Aidan and Kate continued their competitive challenges, and on a few occasions she joined Mac and Aidan out shooting. She loved the fact that she was a better shot than both of them and relished in her victory. Typically on those days, he was relentless at darts when they got back to the house to make up for it.

In addition to Sunday’s, Aidan’s schedule would occasionally allow him to visit the bar on other days of the week when he wasn’t needed for filming. He continued to enjoy his time visiting with Sean at the bar, as well as getting to be there with Kate. Aidan even started to occasionally help out behind the bar mixing drinks and taking orders to tables. Sometimes Kate and Aidan would sneak up to her apartment between the lunch and dinner shifts to have some time alone. One afternoon while they were upstairs wrapped up in each others arms in her bed, she surprised him with a request.

“Can you teach me how to cook?” She asked with an excited look on her face. He was definitely caught off guard by that, but more than delighted to do it. They started spending some of their afternoons either in Vancouver or in Ellisburg picking different recipes that she wanted to learn to make and then he’d help her prepare them. Kate realized she had never really had a desire to do it before because she didn’t have anyone who she wanted to do it for. But given Aidan’s appreciation for good food and his love of cooking, she really wanted to be able to share that with him.

When filming wrapped for the season, Aidan convinced Kate to take two weeks off and go back to Gabriola Island again. They spent more time sailing this trip since the weather was much nicer than at Christmas. Mr. Kelly and Kate taught Aidan more about operating the sailboat, and Kate also learned a few things she either had forgotten or hadn’t learned before. By the second week of the trip, Mr. Kelly let them take the boat out on their own sailing. They spent several days sailing to some of the other islands and would find protected little coves to anchor in overnight. 

Aidan absolutely loved how happy Kate was when they were on the water. They would try to anchor someplace that they could lay on the deck and watch the sunset over Vancouver Island. One night as they were wrapped up together on the deck watching the stars she told him how even when she was a little girl, she had dreamed of having a boat and sailing around British Columbia to visit all of the different islands. There was just something that called to her even before she’d ever stepped on a boat. She guessed it was probably the idea of mysterious places and the possibility for adventure that appealed to her when she was little. Of course once she actually did get a chance to go out sailing, her desire to do it grew even more.

Toward the end of the summer Aidan’s parents came out to visit him. They spent quite a bit of time in Vancouver with him and came up to Ellisburg to meet Kate, as well as Sean and Sarah. Kate absolutely adored his parents, and of course Sean was thrilled to have some new Irish friends to reminisce with about growing up there. Aidan’s parents also went and spent some time with the Kelly’s and convinced Kate and Aidan to come and join them. Kate was thrilled to get another chance to go out sailing again, and Aidan was feeling much more confident with handling more of it on his own with very little assistance from her. Aidan’s mom noticed that they were holding her medallion on the plane ride over. Kate caught a sentimental little smile flash across her face when she saw it. 

Over the US Thanksgiving Weekend, Aidan had several days off from filming so he had been staying with Kate. On Sunday morning Kate felt him get out of bed a bit earlier, but she was still tired from being busy at the bar the night before, so rolled back over and fell back asleep. A little while later she felt the bed move again and could smell coffee near by. She rolled back over and sleepily opened her eyes. He was laying on his side, his face only a foot from hers, staring at her with his beautiful blue eyes sparkling in the morning light. She was shocked at how wide they were and the expression on his face reminded her of a little kid anxiously waiting to open their Christmas presents.

She still felt terribly sleepy and wondered what on earth he was up to. She closed her eyes for a minute, not quite ready to face the day, and felt his breath stronger on her cheek so figured he had scooted closer. She opened her eyes again, and he had moved closer, still with the same big eyes and cheesy grin. She sighed and gave him a ‘what do you want’ sort of look. 

He must have decided she was awake enough to listen finally and made his own rather shocking request. “Can we go and get a Christmas tree today?” She raised her eyebrows at him and gave him a puzzled expression. 

“I thought it would be fun to decorate a tree for Christmas together. It’s been so long since I’ve done that, and seeing all the holiday decorations starting to pop up around town made me think about how much I’d like to do that with you.” 

She chuckled softly and agreed, but only if he let her sleep for another hour first. He slid closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently on the forehead as she fell back asleep. 

Kate hadn’t actually ever put a tree up in her apartment either, so once she was ready for the day, they set out to buy a tree and all the accessories they might need. It took them most of the day to find just the perfect decorations and tree. He insisted on going out to a tree farm and finding the perfect one to cut down themselves. She was surprised by how particular he was when picking out one that was just right. Once they had finished setting it up in her apartment, they curled up on the couch together and turned off the room lights and watched the lights sparkle on the tree. It was hard to believe that almost a year ago the mention of Christmas brought such a look of despair to his face and today he was more like a little kid who loved nothing more than Christmas. The look of happiness and content on his face made her heart melt and she cuddled up even tighter next to him.

A week before Christmas, Aidan had a break in filming and asked if Kate could take the day off for a surprise. Kate agreed wondering what he was up to now. He brought along a picnic lunch and told her that she had to wear a blindfold so he could surprise her. She went along with it, and after she climbed in his Jeep he put a scarf around her eyes that he’d grabbed from her closet. 

When they stopped at their destination, she was pretty sure they were at the docks based on the sounds she could hear. He had his arm around her waist and carefully walked her along. She was certain they were on the docks as they walked and she could feel the wood shifting slightly with the waves. He finally stopped and took her blindfold off. They were standing in front of a sailboat.

She smiled at him and said it was wonderful that he had rented a sailboat for them to go out sailing on. 

He looked intently at her and said, “No Kate, this is OUR sailboat. I hope you like it. Mr. Kelly helped me find the perfect one to surprise you with. Now we can sail off into the sunset together anytime that we want to. I was thinking we could name it ‘Charmed Irish Life’, but you can pick something different if you’d like.”

He set the picnic basket down on the dock and put both of his hands on her face, staring lovingly into her eyes and sighing deeply. “I love you Kate.” He said as he looked at her. He’d always loved her and assumed she knew, but had waited to tell her out loud until he was sure she was ready to hear it. He hoped that time was now, as he didn’t want to wait any longer. His heart was pounding so loudly in his chest, he was sure she’d be able to hear it. He waited anxiously to gauge her reaction.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him in disbelief. She felt her body start to tremble a bit as the reality sank in about just how much he did love her. She always knew he had, and actually wondered why he hadn’t said it sooner, although she hadn’t said it either. But even though she had known, for some reason hearing the words actually come out of his mouth had a larger impact than she ever imagined.

She swallowed hard as she felt her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. His sparkling blue eyes filled with hope and love as they looked back at her. She had given up on the thought of love at first sight and happily ever after, but that was before she’d met him. She had felt something the first day they met and realized now it really was even more special than she could have ever imagined.

She reached up and placed her hands over his and squeezed them with her fingers. She finally caught her breath and was able to speak again. “Thank you for helping me believe in love again,” she said softy. “I love you with all my heart too.”


	12. Epilogue

Around the beginning of April, Kate had noticed Aidan had been acting a bit different than normal. She would occasionally catch him lost in thought with an almost troubled look on his face. When she asked him if everything was alright, he’d say it was nothing and snap back to being his usual self, but she wondered what was going on. After a couple of weeks of noticing it, she brought it up again. He gave her the excuse that he was just getting a bit tired of all the rain they’d been having and it must be making him melancholy.

“Aidan, you’re from Ireland,” she chuckled softly at him, ‘It’s not exactly known as a dry desert climate.”

He smiled back at her and caressed her cheek with his fingers, “I just really miss going to the falls with you.”

His reply melted her heart a little, as she had missed going as well. She’d always loved the falls, but ever since they started going together they had become even more magical to her. It had been too rainy lately for them to go and they’d just been riding in the arena if they went out to the farm on Sundays. She said that it should be clear enough the coming Sunday to go, but that they’d likely have to wash mud off the horses and gear when they came back and the ground would be too wet for their usual picnic on a blanket.

His face lit up more than she had seen in the last couple of weeks, the sparkle in his gorgeous blue eyes looking a little brighter. He leaned in and kissed her, and she could feel the smile on his mouth even as their lips were joined together. She still wasn’t sure if that was all that was bothering him, but she was happy to see it had cheered him up anyway. 

On Sunday, he brought his guitar along mentioning that even if they couldn’t have a picnic, he could still provide her with some musical entertainment. She shot him a suspicious look raising one of her eyebrows. She sighed and thought to herself that they may end up needing the mud washed off of them as well as the horses. 

She thought he still seemed like something was bothering him as they were riding up to the falls. She noticed he seemed to be licking his lips nervously a bit more than he usually did and was even a little fidgety with the reins. If he caught her looking at him though, he’d quickly smile and the nervous look would vanish. 

They found some relatively dry logs to sit on and watch the falls. They sat there for a while with his arm wrapped around her waist, nuzzling his nose into her hair and planting gentle kisses on her cheek and neck. He finally stood up and grabbed his guitar and said he’d been working on learning a new song that he wanted to play for her.

She thought he looked a little nervous, which was strange because he’d played lots of new songs for her that he didn’t know quite yet, and would frequently mess them up and just laugh about it. She also noticed that he didn’t look her in the eyes like he normally did when he played. It reminded her of the first time he played for her on the island when he didn’t look at her until he was done singing. 

A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head  
When I think of all the years I wanna be with you  
Wake up every morning with you in my bed  
That's precisely what I plan to do…

…We'll forever be in love, so there ain't no need to rush  
But one day I won't be able to ask you loud enough

I'll say, "Will you marry me?"  
I swear that I will mean it…

...And if I lost everything  
In my heart it means nothing  
'Cause I have you,  
Girl, I have you  
To get right down on bended knee  
Nothing else would ever be better, better  
That day when...

I'll say, "Will you marry me?"…

Her eyes grew wide as she listened to him sing and all the pieces started falling together. Why he’d been so nervous and anxious to come up here with her. She had always wondered if he’d ever bring up marriage given his last attempted proposal ended so tragically. She also had been a bit unsure herself given her failed attempt at being married whether she would be strong enough to accept even if he had. She swallowed hard and tried to hold back the little tears that were starting to form in her eyes, tears of happiness and surprise. 

When he finished the song, he set the guitar down and got down on one knee. She laughed softly as she heard his knee squish into the soggy ground. He pulled a ring box out of his pocket and held it out to her, looking longingly into her eyes. She could see his fingers trembling as he slowly opened it, revealing a gorgeous sparkling diamond ring.

“Will you marry me Kate?” He asked, his voice so nervous it was barely above a whisper, but she could still hear it even with the falls crashing down behind them.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been holding her breath, but it finally came rushing out of her lungs. She knew in her heart that they really were perfect for each other and that he’d never do anything to ever hurt her. She knew that he was her happily ever after and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She smiled softly at him and answered, “Of course I will.”


End file.
